In preparing our Top Doctors list we surveyed roughly 375,000 physicians. We asked each surveyed doctor to tell us which specialists, in 35 different fields, he or she "would consider most desirable for care of a loved one."

Our list of doctors contains the names of physicians who were mentioned multiple times by other physicians in their communities. The names appear associated with the specialty category chosen by the surveyed physician.

Here is the list of the specialty categories:

• Allergy/Immunology
• Anesthesiology
• Cardiac Surgery
• Cardiology
• Dermatology
• Emergency Medicine
• Endocrinology
• Family Practice
• Gastroenterology
• General Surgery
• Geriatrics
• Hematology/Oncology
• Infectious Disease
• Infertility
• Internal Medicine
• Nephrology
• Neurological Surgery
• Neurology
• Obstetrics/Gynecology
• Ophthalmology
• Orthopedics
• Otorhinolaryngology
• Pain Medicine
• Pathology
• Pediatrics
• Plastic Surgery
• Psychiatry
• Pulmonary Disease
• Radiology-Diagnostic
• Radiology-Therapeutic
• Rehabilitation
• Rheumatology
• Thoracic Surgery
• Urology
• Vascular Surgery