UNDERSTANDING THE LANGUAGE OF MEDICINE

Many Latin Words Are Used in a Form that Has Been Adapted to English.

By perceiving the similarity of Latin stems with those of their English counterpart you can, in many instances, easily interpret their meaning:

Latin	English	Application in Medicine
intestinum	intestine	intestine
musculus	muscle	muscle
ligamentum	ligament	ligament = a strong fibrous band supporting joints or other structures
membrana	membrane	a thin skin-like tissue layer covering or separating different spaces
nodus	a "knot"	a node or small mass of tissue that feels like a knot, either normal or abnormal
vena	vein	a blood vessel carrying blood back towards the chambers of the heart
abscessus	abscess	abscess = a pus pocket
negativus	negative	negative
positivus	positive	positive

NOTE: In medical language the above terms refer to presence (positive findings) or absence of disease or abnormality (negative findings)

majoris, majora major major = the larger of two

minoris, minora minor minor = the smaller of two

NOTE: When used with the name of muscles or other anatomical structures the above two terms reflect size rather than importance; they mostly apply structures of similar shape or location, but differing in size.

supra- or super-	super	located above
infra-	infra-	located below

<<back | next>>