While most of us don’t need to understand discipline-specific jargon outside of our own profession, medical terminology is a notable exception. We all need to know what’s going on with our health.
Health News : It’s helpful to know commonly used medical terms...
Top 25 medical terms to know
- Benign: Not cancerous
- Malignant: Cancerous
- Anti-inflammatory: Reduces swelling, pain, and soreness (such as ibuprofen or naproxen)
- Body Mass Index (BMI): Body fat measurement based on height and weight
- Biopsy: A tissue sample for testing purposes
- Hypotension: Low blood pressure
- Hypertension: High blood pressure
- Lesion: Wound, sore, or cut
- Noninvasive: Doesn’t require entering the body with instruments; usually simple
- Outpatient: Check in and check out the same day
- Inpatient: Plan to stay overnight for one or more days
- In remission: Disease is not getting worse; not to be confused with being cured
- Membrane: Thin layer of pliable tissue that serves as a covering or lining or connection between two structures
- Acute: Sudden but usually short (e.g., acute illness)
- Angina: Pain in the chest related to the heart that comes and goes
- Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD): Heartburn
- Cellulitis: Inflamed or infected tissue beneath the skin
- Epidermis: Outermost layer of skin
- Neutrophils: Most common type of white blood cell
- Edema: Swelling
- Embolism: Blood clot
- Sutures: Stitches
- Polyp: Mass or growth of thin tissue
- Compound fracture: Broken bone that protrudes through the skin
- Comminuted fracture: Broken bone that shatters into many pieces
Next time you hear one of these terms—whether on TV, in a medical environment, or elsewhere—you won’t miss a beat. Just beware, you may be asked to translate for others.
