Lost in Translation: Why Plain Language Matters in Medicine

Have you ever considered the myriad medical terms one needs to learn in order to practice medicine? It is truly a miracle that we master so many of them and do not call a songbird a “thongbird.”

I thought it would be good to cover a lighter topic this week after the post about communicating about death and dying last time.

Merriam-Webster’s Medical Dictionary contains over 40,000 entries, many of which we need to know. These encompass anatomy, physiology, microbiology, pathology, biochemistry, disease states, syndromes, symptoms, diagnoses, and more. Then there are the Latin- and Greek-derived words, in addition to the need to translate medical terminology back into plain language for our patients.

By way of example, we learn that “oma” refers to a tumor, whether benign (adenoma) or malignant (carcinoma); “itis” generally refers to inflammation, such as pancreatitis or fasciitis; oh, and then there is also phlegmon, which is a particular type of inflammation; “asis” refers to a process or state, such as choledocholithiasis or even just stasis; “ism” refers to a state of being, such as hyperparathyroidism; “ology” refers to the “study of,” such as pathology or oncology.

There are syndromic names such as Alport's syndrome and Cushing's syndrome. There's even subclinical Cushing's syndrome, Carney Complex, and Whipple’s triad. Then, there is “hyper-”, “hypo-”, “pseudo-hypo-”, and even “pseudo-pseudo-hypo-”, all types of “parathyroidisms”, along with multiple endocrine neoplasia types I, II, III, and IV.

There are diagnostic terms such as "necrolytic migratory erythema" associated with glucagonoma. There is "calciphylaxis", "dextro", and "volvulus"; and "pulsus paradoxus" associated with cardiac tamponade.

By way of comparison, one needs to know only 1,000–3,000 words in any language to be considered proficient.

No wonder patients do not always understand what we are saying. All the more reason to slow down and translate clearly into plain language.
For example, we need to translate "umbilicus" into belly button; "duodenum", "jejunum", and "ileum" into the small intestine. "Idiopathic" means we do not know why something occurred. "Axilla" is armpit. "Oropharyngeal" relates to the mouth and throat. Rebound tenderness and peritonitis can signal a surgical abdominal emergency. Inguinal is groin. Hepatic is liver. Cardiac is heart, and so forth.