Health Topics
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Understanding Medical Words Tutorial
So
what can you do? If what you're hearing doesn't make sense, make sure to ask questions! You can also
use the MedlinePlus website,
MedlinePlus: Health Topics or
MedlinePlus: Appendix A: Word Parts to find out more about
meanings of the medical words.
Now let's look at a couple of tongue-twisting, big words.
- Colonoscopic polypectomy
- Esophagogastroduodenoscopy
These next words sound alike and are similar in spelling, but one is high blood sugar and one is low blood sugar.
- Hyperglycemia
- Hypoglycemia
These next two words also sound alike, but one is a painful problem with your joints and the other is a disease that makes your bones weak.
- Osteoarthritis
- Osteoporosis
What did the doctor just say? Did she say you needed a colonoscopic polypectomy? What on earth do those two words mean?
You need a what? Transesophageal echocardiogram! What is that?
Medical words can be long and confusing. Let's figure out what these words mean.