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Physicians' handy guide to medspeak
EDITOR'S COLUMN
A few years ago, Drs. William Cleveland and Harry Cynamon contributed a clinical conference entitled "A fascinoma" (J PEDIATR 1984;105:669). When it reached the desk of our conscientious Senior Manuscript Editor, she began to edit it rather heavily because it was replete with clinical jargon, only to find that the jargon was the point of the case report. This special language of clinicians, particularly house staff, is known as Medspeak, and Drl Cleveland now contributes a list of definitions to assist older physicians and patients to understand this lingua franca. Many contributors and reviewers of papers know that we are often forced to reject acceptable papers because of insufficient space, and may wonder why we would provide space for this kind of material, which may seem rather frivolous. We respond to that concern by stating that these terms are commonly included in clinical reports submitted to The Journal, so the problem has extended beyond the wards and staff rooms of our hospitals. More important, we and others (Donnelly WJ. Medical language as symptom: doctor talk in teaching hospitals. Perspect BiN Med 1986;30:81-94.) are convinced that these terms may interfere with communication among physicians and may be heard by patients and parents, who interpret them as frightening, demeaning, or indicating a lack of sensitivity. Moreover, we must remember that more than a fourth of the subscriptions to The Journal are from outside of North America; terms such as "septic workup" and "acute abdomen" may not be understood, or may be misinterpreted, by readers not familiar with Medspeak. A mark of the professional should be the ability to communicate clearly, both with colleagues and with others with whom We come in contact, especially our patients and their families. Medspeak is a bar to communication, and those of us with responsibilities for education of medical students and house staff should make every effort to discourage its use.~-J.M.G., Editor
PHYSICIANS' HANDY GUIDE TO MEDSPEAK The following definitions are provided as a guide to u n d e r s t a n d i n g Medspeak, the lingua franca of house staff, students, and some faculty. This c o m p e n d i u m is intended to facilitate communication between people who use standard terminology and those who are m u c h given to Medspeak. T h e part of speech is indicated by the abbreviation immediately following the t e r m (e.g., v for verb, n for noun). This designation o f t e n will vary significantly from the accepted form; a n i m p o r t a n t part of this language is to change the noun to the verb form, as in "to bolus" or " t o tube." T h e various tense forms can readily be inferred: past tense, as in the physician " t u b e d " the baby, a n d past perfect, as in " h a d tubed." Synonyms are included when appropriate. Only a few abbreviations are listed, because they are sufficiently complex as to require a separate guide. For clarification, practical examples of usage are
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frequently included. Those terms followed by an asterisk are f u n d a m e n t a l to M e d s p e a k a n d have been described by Dr. Nicholas Christy! in more detail a n d m u c h more eloquently. T h e contribution of Dr. R o b e r t Merrill to the collection of terms is m u c h :appreciated.
William W. Cleveland, M.D. Professor and Chairman Department of Pediatrics (R-131) University of Miami School of Medicine P.O. Box 016960, Central Building Jackson Memorial Hospital Miami, FL 33101 REFERENCE 1. Christy NP. English is our second language. N Engl J Med 1977;300:979.
A few years ago, Drs. William Cleveland and Harry Cynamon contributed a clinical conference entitled "A fascinoma" (J PEDIATR 1984;105:669). When it reached the desk of our conscientious Senior Manuscript Editor, she began to edit it rather heavily because it was replete with clinical jargon, only to find that the jargon was the point of the case report. This special language of clinicians, particularly house staff, is known as Medspeak, and Drl Cleveland now contributes a list of definitions to assist older physicians and patients to understand this lingua franca. Many contributors and reviewers of papers know that we are often forced to reject acceptable papers because of insufficient space, and may wonder why we would provide space for this kind of material, which may seem rather frivolous. We respond to that concern by stating that these terms are commonly included in clinical reports submitted to The Journal, so the problem has extended beyond the wards and staff rooms of our hospitals. More important, we and others (Donnelly WJ. Medical language as symptom: doctor talk in teaching hospitals. Perspect BiN Med 1986;30:81-94.) are convinced that these terms may interfere with communication among physicians and may be heard by patients and parents, who interpret them as frightening, demeaning, or indicating a lack of sensitivity. Moreover, we must remember that more than a fourth of the subscriptions to The Journal are from outside of North America; terms such as "septic workup" and "acute abdomen" may not be understood, or may be misinterpreted, by readers not familiar with Medspeak. A mark of the professional should be the ability to communicate clearly, both with colleagues and with others with whom We come in contact, especially our patients and their families. Medspeak is a bar to communication, and those of us with responsibilities for education of medical students and house staff should make every effort to discourage its use.~-J.M.G., Editor
PHYSICIANS' HANDY GUIDE TO MEDSPEAK The following definitions are provided as a guide to u n d e r s t a n d i n g Medspeak, the lingua franca of house staff, students, and some faculty. This c o m p e n d i u m is intended to facilitate communication between people who use standard terminology and those who are m u c h given to Medspeak. T h e part of speech is indicated by the abbreviation immediately following the t e r m (e.g., v for verb, n for noun). This designation o f t e n will vary significantly from the accepted form; a n i m p o r t a n t part of this language is to change the noun to the verb form, as in "to bolus" or " t o tube." T h e various tense forms can readily be inferred: past tense, as in the physician " t u b e d " the baby, a n d past perfect, as in " h a d tubed." Synonyms are included when appropriate. Only a few abbreviations are listed, because they are sufficiently complex as to require a separate guide. For clarification, practical examples of usage are
78
frequently included. Those terms followed by an asterisk are f u n d a m e n t a l to M e d s p e a k a n d have been described by Dr. Nicholas Christy! in more detail a n d m u c h more eloquently. T h e contribution of Dr. R o b e r t Merrill to the collection of terms is m u c h :appreciated.
William W. Cleveland, M.D. Professor and Chairman Department of Pediatrics (R-131) University of Miami School of Medicine P.O. Box 016960, Central Building Jackson Memorial Hospital Miami, FL 33101 REFERENCE 1. Christy NP. English is our second language. N Engl J Med 1977;300:979.