Medical Terminology: Key Concepts and Abbreviations

Lecture Agenda

Define medical terminology
Define common health, disease, and pharmacological terms
Review common pharmacological medical abbreviations

What is medical terminology? Why do HCPs use it?

Medical terminology is the specialized language used by healthcare professionals (HCPs) to describe body systems, diseases, procedures, and medications.
Purpose: ensures precise, efficient, and standardized communication among clinicians, patients, and healthcare settings.
Benefits include clarity in documentation, accurate coding and billing, safer patient care, and improved interdisciplinary collaboration.
Real-world relevance: reduces misunderstandings that could affect diagnosis, treatment, and patient safety.

Key Terms and Concepts (based on lecture slide definitions)

1. Biopsy — removal and examination of tissue.
2. Afebrile — without a fever; also apyretic.
3. Adventitious — coming from an external source; occurring spontaneously in some contexts.
4. Comorbidity — two or more possibly unrelated medical conditions existing at the same time.
5. Morbidity — consequences of a given illness; state of being diseased or unhealthy within a population.
6. Mortality — death from a particular illness or disease within a given population.
7. Diagnosis — the specific injury, illness, disease, or condition.
8. Differential Diagnosis — the identification of several pathologies that might have similar clinical presentations.
9. Prognosis — prediction and results of the course of the disease as well as the treatment.
1. Etiology — mechanism of disease; how did it occur.
1. Pathology — the study of the biological causes, effects, and processes of disease.
1. Signs — something the healthcare provider sees or feels (e.g., vitals) that can be objectively measured or assessed.
1. Symptoms — something a patient tells you (subjective).
1. [Note: The slides present 14 as Symptoms; numbering reflects the slide order.]

Disease & Health definitions

Disease — A condition of the living organism or its parts that impairs normal functioning, typically manifested by distinguishing signs and symptoms.
Health — A state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
Practical implication: the goal of medicine is to restore health and optimize function, not just to eliminate disease.

Adventitious Breath Sounds (clinical acoustics)

Adventitious breath sounds are abnormal sounds heard during auscultation.
Wheezing — High-pitched whistling sounds.
Rhonchi — Coarse, low-pitched breathing sounds.
Stridor — High-pitched and noisy, most common in children.
Crackles/Rales — High-pitched rattling sounds.
Pleural rub — Low-pitched and harsh sounds.
Relevance: helps differentiate respiratory conditions (e.g., asthma, COPD, pneumonia).

Afebrile vs Febrile: Temperature status

Afebrile — Without a fever; apyretic.
Febrile — Having a fever.
Temperature ranges:
- High fever: > 39.4^{\circ}\mathrm{C}
- Moderate fever: 37.7^{\circ}\mathrm{C} \text{ to } 39.4^{\circ}\mathrm{C}
- Normal temperature: 35.4^{\circ}\mathrm{C} \text{ to } 37.7^{\circ}\mathrm{C}
Clinical significance: fever patterns help in differential diagnosis and monitoring of illness progression.

Biopsy (clinical procedure)

Definition: Removal and examination of tissue.
Contexts: often used to diagnose pathology or confirm disease processes.
Practical note: biopsy results guide treatment decisions and prognosis.

Comorbidity, Morbidity & Mortality: Concepts in population health

Comorbidity (adj. comorbid): two or more possibly unrelated medical conditions existing at the same time.
Morbidity: consequences of a given illness; the state of being diseased or unhealthy within a population.
Mortality: death from a particular illness or disease within a population.
Practical relevance: informs epidemiology, resource allocation, and risk stratification in clinical practice.

Diagnosis, Differential Diagnosis, and Prognosis

Diagnosis: The specific injury, illness, disease, or condition.
Differential Diagnosis: Identification of several pathologies that might have similar clinical presentations.
Prognosis: Prediction of the course of the disease as well as the treatment and results.
Practical implications: accurate diagnosis leads to appropriate management; differential diagnosis prevents misdiagnosis; prognosis guides patient counseling and plan.

The Disease Process: Etiology and Pathology; Signs vs Symptoms

Etiology — The mechanisms of disease; how did it occur?
Pathology — The study of the biological causes, effects, and processes of disease.
Signs — Objective findings observed by the clinician (e.g., vitals, physical exam findings).
Symptoms — Subjective patient-reported experiences (e.g., pain, dizziness).
Foundational principle: clinical reasoning integrates etiology, pathology, and observed signs/symptoms to reach a diagnosis.

Clinical Presentation: Erythema, Purulent, Suppurative

Erythema — Redness of the skin due to capillary dilation.
Purulent — pus-filled.
Suppurative — pus-forming.
Example combined phrase: Suppurative erythema or purulent discharge indicates an active infection.

Other Common Medical Terms

Malaise — A general feeling of discomfort or uneasiness; often an early symptom.
Palliative or supportive — Strategies aimed at reducing severity of illness or symptoms without curing the disease.
Prodromal — Early symptoms indicating onset of illness (pre-illness signs).
Sequela / Sequelae — A condition occurring as a consequence of a given illness or disease.
Practical implication: understanding these terms supports symptom interpretation and patient counseling.

Medical Terminology - Sentences (sample usage)

The nurse listened for adventitious breath sounds.
The patient is afebrile.
A biopsy was taken of the suspicious tissue.
The patient has comorbidities of CFS and anxiety.
The patient had constitutional symptoms of weight loss, fatigue, chronic pain, and night sweats.
She presented with facial erythema.
The patient is febrile.
The patient reported general malaise.
The morbidity rate for influenza is high in unvaccinated people.
Children living in low-income households have higher asthma mortality rates.
We provided palliative care for her URI.
The patient reported prodromal symptoms of sore throat and headache prior to developing a URI.
She developed a purulent discharge from the wound after swimming in the lake.
A common sequela of diabetes is neuropathy.
He was diagnosed with suppurative otitis media on exam.
Fill-in-the-blank exercises help reinforce terminology.

Pharmacological Abbreviations (illustrative list from slides)

ac — before meals
pc — after meals
bid — twice daily
tid — three times daily
qid — four times daily
qd or daily — everyday
PRN — as needed
mL — milliliters
Tbsp. — tablespoon
tsp — teaspoon
g — gram
mg — milligram
cap — capsule
tab — tablet
Inj — injection
IM — intramuscular
IV — intravenous
NPO — nothing by mouth
PO — by mouth
s/p — status post
nm — (note: some entries on the slide were garbled; verify with current institution abbreviations)
pcs or pc — after meals (reiterated)
n/a
These abbreviations vary by institution; always consult local guidelines and medication orders for accuracy.

Practical implications, ethics, and real-world relevance

Using standardized medical terminology minimizes miscommunication and medication errors.
Clear documentation supports continuity of care across providers and settings.
Misinterpretation of abbreviations or terms can lead to patient harm; always spell out or verify ambiguous abbreviations when communicating with patients.
Ethical responsibility includes ensuring informed consent and shared decision-making; terminology should be understandable to patients when explaining diagnoses and treatment options.
In real-world practice, terminology connects to coding, billing, and public health reporting, making accuracy essential for patient care and system functioning.

Review and study tips

Memorize core definitions: disease vs health; signs vs symptoms; etiologies; pathologies; prognosis.
Practice differentiating Afebrile vs Febrile, and reading temperature ranges in Celsius.
Be comfortable with common terms used in clinical notes and SOAP notes.
Familiarize yourself with frequent pharmacological abbreviations and their meanings, but always confirm with your institution's style guide.
Use the sample sentences as templates to practice forming correct medical statements.

Connections to foundational principles

Terminology reflects the scientific method: observation (signs), patient report (symptoms), causation (etiology), mechanism (pathology), and outcome (prognosis).
The disease process framework integrates biology (etiology, pathology) with clinical presentation (signs/symptoms) to guide diagnosis and management.
Population health concepts (morbidity, mortality, comorbidity) underpin evidence-based practice and resource planning.

Quick reference equations and ranges (LaTeX-formatted where applicable)

Fever temperature ranges:
- High fever: > 39.4^{\circ}\mathrm{C}
- Moderate fever: 37.7^{\circ}\mathrm{C} \leq T \leq 39.4^{\circ}\mathrm{C}
- Normal temperature: 35.4^{\circ}\mathrm{C} \leq T \leq 37.7^{\circ}\mathrm{C}
None of the other items include mathematical equations; the rest are definitions or conceptual terms.

Note about content origin

The lecture slides contain several typographical errors and garbled phrases (e.g., inconsistent numbering and garbled abbreviations). The notes above aim to preserve the intended meanings while clarifying ambiguous items where possible. In practice, always verify terms, spellings, and abbreviations against authoritative course materials and institutional guidance.