Why is a Special Medical Language Needed?

The purpose of any language is to convey meaning. Scientific communications require a special terminology, in order to express meaning very clearly and specifically. Therefore the terms of scientific languages are derived, for the most part, in a logical way by drawing from already established Greek and Latin word roots.

The reasons why these particular languages are being used, will be discussed below in greater detail, but let us, to begin with, consider briefly the qualities of conciseness, precision and clarity. These have foremost importance in medical language, because a patient's life may depend on expedient precise communications.

Take an expression conveyed in medical terminology, compare it to its translation into ordinary English and you will see that a medical term, even though it may be a long word, expresses a concept clearly and with precision, yet in less length of wording.

Thus the term "ENDARTERECTOMY" stands for "an operative procedure to remove an abnormality by cutting it out from within a blood vessel that carries blood away from the chambers of the heart".

How has this term been constructed? Let us take it apart and look at component elements: