medical terminology

[Gerianne]

instead of calling it swelling, it is "edema".
a rash is "dermatitis".
blood clot is "thrombosis".
simple language is so much easier to comprehend.

[gaby_ro_2004]

That is true.

[catherinedwhite]

There seem to be multiple words for just about everything.....lol.

[sbenkoski]

They have to have something to learn in school .... other than fixing problems with pills and charging us to much for their time as they treat us like second class citizens. In the fifty eight years I been on this earth I have only met 3 Drs. who really cared enough to say their job was to never have to see me again.... And followed threw with it.

[candyterrius]

It is true simple language is easier to comprehend for the common people, however, utilizing medical terminology is the norm working in a healthcare setting. Can you imagine how many types of edemas and inflammations there are? That is why medical terminology exists as the language of medicine to distinguish them. The structure of medical terminology is broken down to its combining form (root word + combining vowel), prefix and suffix. It’s not difficult to analyze and decipher its meaning. 

For example:
Dysmenorrhea -> menstrual cramps (dys- …difficult, pain) (men/o …menses, menstruation) (-rrhea …flowing; discharge)
Arthralgia -> joint pain (arthr- …joint) (-algia …pain)
Gastritis -> inflammation of the stomach (gastr- …stomach) (-itis …inflammation)
Dyspnea -> difficult or painful breathing (dys-…difficult, pain) (-pnea …breathing)

Spelling is important too. If misspelled, worse case scenario can cost a life.

Example: ilium versus ileum
One means hip bone in the pelvic area and the other means the 3rd part of the small intestine.

I admit it does take time and effort to memorize the meanings as a beginner because there are so many terminologies to digest -- and not to mention there are also many abbreviations, acronyms etc to know as well. I enjoyed the class, but I didn’t like it was fast paced in a month. 

[ancmetro]

      It is true. Simple language is easy to understand...
but insurance companies still want and use technical
and legal terms.

[natashaspy]

true but I think they believe they can charge more if they use big words in doctor offices lol

[BATISTAGIRL663]

i know what you mean --after my stay in the hospital i had to come home and research some of the terms used in my release papers !! lol

[ljrjess69]

yep i gotta to agree with ya,,,,,,,

[dsosnowski06]

Since my daughter started her master's for dietitian I feel like I never know what she is talking about.   

[6265AT99]

LOL - I agree but I think that's just so we can get "confused" and the doctors can make more money on treatment!!!

[makeblessed]

Simple language is much easier to understand, when I deal with doctors and others in the medical profession I tell them to explain it to me in plain language, I understand for billing purposes with the high priced insurance companies they probably need to use the medical terminology, but I have them break it down where I can understand what's going on with me in simpler terms.

[mrsmere]

Some of these posts are funny like they can charge more for using a word we can't pronounce.  I research my moms medicine and diagnosis all the time.

[holmesch22]

bad skin is/you have bad case of psoriasis you is so right just use simple words

[Cbsteffen]

Well, I'm a linguist and an etymologist, so I would know medical terminology well.