medical terminology
Healthcare professional language
Medical terminology is the specialized vocabulary used by healthcare professionals to describe the body, diseases, procedures, and treatments.
These terms typically derive from Greek and Latin roots, allowing precise communication across languages and specialties: The nursing student struggled with medical terminology.
Learning the common prefixes, suffixes, and root words makes the system more accessible: *cardio-* (heart), *-itis* (inflammation), *hepat-* (liver).
- prognosisPredicted disease course
- glossaryAlphabetical list with definitions
- nomenclatureSystem of specialized terms
- lexiconVocabulary of a language
- chief complaintPrimary reason seeking care
biopsy · Latin · eponym · vital signs · signs · ultrasound · differential diagnosis · lab results · lingo · abbreviations · etymology · imaging studies · X-ray · jargon · MRI · chart · endoscopy · screening
- nursingnurse, nursing, nurses, RN, LPN
- medical educationmed schools, med school, med student, clinical training, clinical rotations
- medical trainingCPR, anatomical model, med schools, first aid, teaching hospitals
- nomenclaturescientific names, taxonomy, taxa, genus, species
- healthcaredoctors, nurses, hospitals, hospital, clinic
- Health Careersdoctor, nurse practitioner, nursing, physician, surgeon
medical terminologylayman's terms
Non-specialist phrasing
plain language · common parlance · everyday language · colloquial language · plain English
medical terminologylegal terminology
Formal language of courts
financial terminology · military jargon · computer terminology · sports terminology