Abbott Laboratories engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and sale of a line of health care products principally in the United States and Canada. The company operates through three segments: Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, and Ross Products. The Pharmaceutical Products segment's products include a line of adult and pediatric pharmaceuticals, which are sold primarily on the prescription, or recommendation, of physicians. This segment sells its products directly to wholesalers, government agencies, health care facilities, and independent retailers in the United States through company-owned distribution centers and public warehouses. The Diagnostic Products segment's products consist of diagnostic systems and tests for blood banks, hospitals, commercial laboratories, alternate-care testing sites, plasma protein therapeutic companies, and consumers. These products are sold directly to hospitals, laboratories, clinics, and physicians' offices. The Ross Products segment's products include a line of pediatric and adult nutritionals. This segment sells its products directly to physicians, health care facilities, and government agencies through wholesalers. Abbott Laboratories was founded by Wallace Calvin Abbott in 1888. The company is based in Abbott Park, Illinois.