You take your pet’s health seriously. You visit your veterinarian regularly. You listen attentively to explanations and instructions delivered in the examination room. Despite all this effort, trying to understand what your veterinarian is saying may make your head spin.
“Medicalese” is the “language” or specialized terminology of the medical and veterinary professions. Doctors often use specialized, unfamiliar words when speaking, making medicalese difficult for many pet owners.
Learning medicalese is an important part of health literacy, which is the ability understand and retain medical information well enough to make reasonable health care decisions for yourself or for your pet. Without knowing the language, it’s hard to understand what your doctor or veterinarian is saying.
Learning medicalese
As with most foreign languages, it helps to study the basics first. Most medical terms are derived from Greek or Latin words and have several parts. It is easier to understand medical terms if you break them down into these parts. The three basic parts of medical terms are:
- A word root, which is usually in the middle of the word and cannot stand alone.
- A prefix that is positioned in front of the word and indicates number, time, or location (pre=before).
- A suffix that is attached to the end of the word that gives more details about a condition, disease process, or procedure.
For example, consider the word pericarditis.
- “Peri” is a prefix that means “around.”
- “Cardia” is a root word that means “heart.”
- “Itis” is a suffix that means “inflammation.”
- Pericarditis is an inflammation of the outer layer of the heart.
Medical terms change meaning by changing prefixes or suffixes. For example, endocarditis refers to inflammation of the inner layer of the heart.
Components of medicalese
Medical terms are easier to understand when you know some common components.
Colors
Color prefixes can provide excellent clues about the word and its meaning.
- Leuko = white: Leukocytes (white blood cells), leukemia (abnormal amount of white blood cells)
- Melano = dark: Melanoma (dark skin tumor)
- Cyano = blue: Cyanosis (blue tint due to lack of oxygenation)
- Pupura = purple: Bruising
Directions
In, out, up, and down are common directions. Medical conditions are described directionally, too, indicating where the body is affected. The following list provides some common directional prefixes:
- Endo = inside: Endoscopy uses a special camera to look at the inside a part of the body (e.g., bladder, stomach, knee).
- Ecto = outside: Ectoparasites, such as fleas, live on the outside of a pet.
- Peri = around: Peri-anal refers to the area around the anus.
- Intra = within: Intravenous means into or within a vein(s).
- Retro = behind: Retrosternal refers to the area behind the sternum or breastbone.
- Sub = below: Submandibular is the area under the mandible or jawbone.
- Epi = on top: Epidermis is the top layer of skin.
Anatomy
Veterinary medicine involves lots of anatomy. It helps to understand which part of your pet’s body is being discussed in an exam room. Here are some common anatomical (root) terms:
- Derm = skin: Dermatitis is an inflammation of the skin.
- Gastro = stomach: Gastritis is an inflammation of the stomach.
- Myo = muscle: Myositis is an inflammation of the muscle.
- Cardio = heart: Cardiomyopathy is a disease(–pathy) of the heart muscle (myo–).
- Hepato = liver: Hepatoma is a tumor of the liver.
- Pneumo = lungs: Pneumonia is infection of the lungs.
- Nephro = kidney: Nephrotoxic is something that poisons the kidney.
- Osteo = bone: Osteosarcoma is a tumor of the bone. Orthopedist is a bone doctor.
- Optho = eyes: Ophthalmology is the study of the eyes.
Abbreviations and Acronyms
Lots of medical terminology is so long and complex that it boggles the mind; however, efforts to shorten the terms may make matters worse. Here are some common abbreviations and acronyms:
CBC = complete blood count
WBC = white blood cell
RBC = red blood cell
BID = twice daily
TID = three times daily
QID = four times daily (think “quad”)
BP = blood pressure
CHF = congestive heart failure
CNS = central nervous system (brain and spinal cord)
DJD = degenerative joint disease
ECG or EKG = electrocardiogram
GI = gastrointestinal
IBD = inflammatory bowel disease
IM = intramuscular
IN = intranasal
IV = intravenous
NSAID = nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug
OA = osteoarthritis
PO = by mouth (per os)
SC or SQ = subcutaneously (under the skin)
UTI = urinary tract infection
Your veterinarian is there to help
These tips only scratch the surface of “medicalese” and will not make you fluent in the language of medicine, but they will get you started. And remember, if you have difficulty understanding your veterinarian, ask them to slow down or present the information in a different way. Ask for client education handouts, like this one, that can help you understand what is happening with your pet.
Many health care professionals are becoming more aware of the importance of health literacy and are working to improve their communication skills, as they know that you can make better decisions and follow treatment plans better if you can understand the options.
