vocabulary of health and medicine by eguriase s. m. okaka

Vocabulary of Health and Medicine

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By Eguriase S. M. Okaka Vocabulary refers to the use of words by a particular language, book, and branch of science or author. It is a list of words in alphabetical order with definitions and translations as it is the case of the dictionary. It is simply a word and the meaning of that word as the case always is. It is a common saying that health is wealth. In other words, good health is the real prosperity because without it the door to other sources of progress in life may remain close. Hence, it is important to take proper care of one’s health. Here is a list of words with their definitions. Now let us consider the following vocabulary: • Cardiology: This is the care and treatment of heart diseases. • Casualty ward: This is a ward where accident victims are treated. • Dentist: This is a doctor that treats teeth problem. • Dermatology: This is concerned with skin diseases and the doctor who treats skin diseases is called a dermatologist. • ENT: This abbreviation refers to Ear, Nose and Throat. • Gynecology: This is the treatment of diseases and disorders in women. • Matron: This is a woman who is the head of the nursing staff in a hospital. • Mortuary: A room or building where dead bodies are kept until they are taken to be buried or cremated. • Neurology: This is the study of the brain disorders. • Obstetrics: Obstetrics deals with the birth of children. • Orthopedic: This is the treatment of the bone and related diseases or disorders. • Pediatrics deals with the treatment of children’s diseases. A pediatrician is a doctor who treats children’s diseases. • Patient refers to someone who receives medical treatment. • Pharmacist refers to a person who is trained to prepare and sell medicines. • Pharmacy refers to a shop or part of the hospital where medicines are prepare and sold. • Physiotherapy: This is the treatment of injury or diseases of the joints or muscles. • Radiology deals with x-ray. • Surgery refers to the treatment involving the cutting open of the body to remove or replace some parts. • Theater: This refers to where operations are performed (operating theater). Verbs and phrases used in medicine • Somebody with cold suffers a runny nose. • Doctors prescribe drugs. • Doctors diagnose diseases. • Pharmacists dispense drugs. • Bones become dislocated or fractured (when there is an accident). • Some people suffer asthma attack. • People with heart conditions may suffer a heart attack or cardiac arrest. • Some people have allergies to certain food or substances. • Pregnant women have their babies delivered in a maternity ward. • Patients take drugs in doses. • Tests are carried out on a patient. • Some patients are given blood transfusion. • Patients do blood tests or urine tests or stool tests. • Blood samples are taken from patients. • Doctors refer patients to a hospital from another hospital/doctor. • A patient who is in a large period of unconsciousness is in a coma (is comatose). • Nurses dress wounds. Exercise 1 Complete the following sentences with one of the options in brackets after each sentence. • Our family doctor ------------------- some drugs for me. (persuade, prescribe, inscribe) • The doctor expected the patient to make a ---------------- recovery in seven days. (fully, full, fool) • A doctor can -------------------- a patient to a specialist (bring, report, refer) • A test that is done to check your blood is called a ------------------. (blood exam, blood test, blood trial) • Dr Abdur Rahman was able to -------------------- and test my sister’s illness. (tell, diagnose, say) • It’s summer and my ----------------- are acting up again. (allergens, allergies, allergic reactions) • Many children usually have --------------------- noses during winter. (running, rainy, runny) • A person who is ------------------- to a drug is unable to stop taking it. (convicting, addicted, abused) • After Obi fell off his bike, the matron dressed his ----------------------. (blood, injury, womb) • A pharmacist who --------------------- fake drugs will be penalized by the government. (disperses, dispenses, take) Exercise 2 Fill the blank spaces with words taken from the word list under vocabulary of health and medicine. • When my brother had a nasal problem, he was treated at the ------------------ department of the General hospital. • The drugs in the doctor’s prescription was dispensed at the -------------------. • I have just collected my ------------------------ result at the radiology unit of the hospital. • My visit to the ------------------- scared me because of the number of dead people there. • Many ---------------------- were waiting to receive treatment in the doctor’s office. • There are many accident victims in the ---------------------- ward. Exercise 3 Find out from a good dictionary or the internet what the following people do in the medical profession. • Radiologist • Pediatrician • Oncologist • Gynecologist • Ophthalmologist • Dermatologist • Physiotherapist • Urologist • Anesthetist • Midwife • Cardiologist • Radiographer • Optician Fake Drugs The findings of recent studies show that the problem of counterfeit drugs in Nigeria are real and is capable of undermining the health care delivery efforts of the federal and state governments. According to experts, the negative impact of fake drugs on the society is more than that of either narcotic agents or the combined effects of malaria, HIV/AIDS and armed robbery. The associated health risks include antibiotic resistance, therapeutic failure, toxic effects and even death. (An excerpt from an article titled ‘The Menace of Fake Drugs: Consequences, Causes and Possible Solutions by A. Chika. S. O. Bello, A. O. Jimoh and M. T. Umar in the Research Journal of Medical Sciences Vol. 5 Issue 5,201) Summary writing Writing a one-sentence summary A one-sentence summary (or thesis statement) is a statement of the purpose, intent or main idea of a passage or text. A good thesis statement should capture the detail of a written piece or passage. Most thesis statements include two parts: What/who and why • What/who: What claim are you making about the passage? Who are the people involved in the events? • Why: Why is your claim important? To write a one-sentence summary, the following guidelines should be of help. a) Do a reader’s summary of the passage by reading the whole passage, closing the text and writing a summary of the key points of the passage. b) Read the passage again and underline or write out the topic sentences of each paragraph. The topic sentences will guide you on what the whole passage is about. c) Write one sentence (a kind of a mega-sentence or super-sentence) that will capture most of the things in the key points or topic sentence. Example Passage title: Drug use, misuse and abuse Key points • A drug affects the body’s structure and function. • Drug use = taking the right dosage. • Drugs are used to relieve pain and treat diseases. • Drug misuse = using drugs for pleasure. • Drug abuse = taking drugs in a way that affects the body’s mental and physical conditions. • Drug addiction = uncontrolled use of drug. By Eguriase S. M. Okaka