General Terms & Alternative Medicine

Triage

Determining the priority of patients' treatments based on severity

Pathogen

Microorganism that can cause disease

Remission

Decrease or disappearance of disease symptoms

Prognosis

Doctor's judgment of the likely course of a disease

Acupuncture

Treating with needles to stimulate nerve impulses

Reflexology

Pressing parts of feet to treat other body areas

Hypnotism

Treating by putting someone into a deep sleep

Aromatherapy

Treating with special oils

Homeopathy

Treating with very small amounts of drugs

Massage

Rubbing parts of the body to relieve pain

Herbal remedies

Medicines made from special herbs and plants

Negligence

A formal failure to provide proper care

Clinical trial

Research on the effectiveness or safety of treatments

Meticulous

Paying careful attention to every detail

Spotless

Perfectly clean

Keyhole surgery

Medical operation using a very small cut

Cosmetic surgery

Treatment to improve appearance

Referral

Sending someone to a specialist

Confidential

Kept secret or private

Access

To reach or make use of something

Out of hours

Time when a surgery is closed

Free of charge

Costs nothing

Get hold of

To find or obtain something

Junior

Having a low rank in an organization

Arrange

To put things in a certain way

Balanced

Having elements in correct proportions

Commit

To decide to do something

Essential

Absolutely necessary

Grooming

Keeping oneself clean and nice-looking

Irritable

Easily annoyed

Mnemonic

A tool to help remember things

Prone to

Likely to suffer from something

Reminder

Something that makes one remember

Schedule

A timetable

Set aside

To reserve for a special purpose

Strenuous

Involving a lot of effort

Succumb

To give in or surrender

Temptation

Wanting to do something one should avoid

On tenterhooks

Feeling high anxiety or suspense

Happy medium

A compromise

Toe the line

To behave or obey the rules

Acute

Illness that is severe and sudden

Chronic

Persisting for a long time

Benign

Not harmful; non-cancerous

Malignant

Cancerous; destroys tissue

Epidemic

Widespread infectious disease

Inflammation

Reddened, swollen body part