Overview Every profession has its jargon, a specialized language that allows for quick, efficient communication between members of the same profession while minimizing the potential for misunderstandings. Jargon is not unique to professions. However, it is in everyone's interest to be an insider when it comes to medical terminology, the jargon of medicine. Being familiar with medical words makes your visit to the doctor less intimidating and, more importantly, enables you to make sound decisions about your health care in consultation with your family physician.
Medical terminology is a specialized language used by health care practitioners.
And, just like a foreign language, it has its own vocabulary and ways of stringing together words in an acceptable, i.e., understandable to everyone, format. But, unlike a foreign language, you come across medical terminology every day in magazines and newspapers with articles about new drugs, diets, new medical treatments and on television medical dramas. What follows is a mini-course in medical terminology. You will learn approximately 300 words. This may seem like a lot, but it is only a fraction of the words you would learn in a full academic course in the subject.