Medical Terminology

Like a foreign language Terms describe body in detail Conveys the greatest quantity of information, with least confusion and most precision

A single term can describe a disease, condition or procedure that might otherwise take several words Example: appendectomy Example: tendonitis

Foundation of terms are Greek and Latin 75% of all medical terms Greeks were founder’s of modern medicine Latin is the language of choice for medicine and science

First medical dictionary appeared in 1830s Dorland’s Illustrated Medical Dictionary, 1890 Rapid increase in knowledge increases need for new vocabulary Impossible to learn ALL terms, but possible to figure out the words by breaking down the word parts Learning basic word parts, helps interpret the meaning

Etymology Science of the origin a development of words Indicates origin and historical development Helps find origin and historical development Helps decipher words with Latin and Green origins

Eponyms Words named after people Parkinson’s diease-named after English physician James Parkinson Lou Gehrig’s Alzheimer’s Crohn’s disease

Acronyms/Abbreviations Modern terms that stand for longer phrases Used in many healthcare fields Each medical facility has an approved list Important to learn the meanings of abbreviations in facility in which you work /student_resources/termabbrev.pdf /student_resources/termabbrev.pdf