2 Learning Terminology
The language of medicine
- Dates to when we only spoke language and had no written language
- Hippocrates
o Greek Doctor
 Studied ethics and human body
o Medical Terminology gained uniformity
Hippocratic Oath
- Ethical standards of modern medicine
- Avoid mischief and corruption
- Keeping Confidences
- Do no harm
- Debate
o Euthanasia
 Is it okay to end human life early?
o Abortion
 Who’s right, is it? Baby or Mother
Derivation of Medical Terminology
Etymology: Study of the origin of words
- Medical terms are based on Greek and Latin
o Most people who were smart knew ancient Greek and Latin
- Building words is the way to describe new medical discoveries
o Greek and Latin Bases
- Passed on through oral tradition until 8th century
o Kardia > Heorte > Heart
o Greek Alphabet
Pluralizing Terms
Rules
- Add s to words ending in vowel or consonant
o Except s, x, z, or y
 For s or z: Add “es”
 For x: Add “ces”
 For y: Add “ies”
- Add “e” to Latin terms ending in a
- Remove “us” to “i” Bacillus > Bacilli
- Sis > ses
- “ion” > “ia”
- “lum” -> “la”
- Examples
o
o
o
o
Staphylococcus - Staphylococci
Vasectomy - Vasectomies
Paraplegic - Paraplegics
Appendix - Appendices
Misspelling of Medical Terms / Mispronunciations
- Can cause life threatening situations
- Examples
o The patient was to have a cholecystectomy NOT A colectomy!
- Long and Short vowel are a guide to help pronounce
o Emphasis on Syllables
Using Medical Terminology
- Instrumental in both verbal and written communication
- Ethical and Legal reasons, Obviously
- Coding and Billing
o Insurance
- State Law
- Institution’s Responsibilities
- Configuration of computer system
- SOAP on Medical Records
o Updated and Listed Chronologically
o Earliest date at the top
- Change has not been drastic
o Ancient terms not changed