More Common Errors in Medical English Writing Word Usage
In Some Common Errors in Medical English Writing Word Usage, we’ve already presented numerous examples. As we have explained, when writing in technical or specialized fields, writers need to be aware of certain rules and standards. In the field of medical writing, editing, and proofreading, the American Medical Association (AMA) Manual of Style (9th edition) is the most widely used style manual. Again, we would like to recommend that you use the AMA Manual of Style to make your medical English writing as good as it possibly can be.
In this essay, we will look at several additional examples of both correct and incorrect medical English writing usage.
Disc versus Disk
In casual writing, these two words are often used interchangeably. Some writers might simply prefer one spelling to the other.
However, the AMA Manual of Style recommends using disc and disk in different, specific ways. Use disc when writing about the eye, or ophthalmology. Use disk when referring to other parts of the anatomy. Two examples of correct medical usage are optic disc and lumbar disk.
There are two exceptions to this rule: (1) disk should also be used when writing about computers. For example, disk drive and hard disk are both correct usage; and (2) disc is the term to be used for entertainment media, as in compact disc and videodisc.
Doctor versus Physician
Doctor is a more general term than physician. It includes, for example, such medical professionals as dentists, veterinarians, pediatricians, and surgeons. It even refers to anyone with a PhD degree in a discipline other than medicine. Someone can, for example, be a doctor of history or politics!
Physician is a more specific term and refers only to doctors who have an MD or a DO degree. (MD is the acronym for Doctor of Medicine and DO is the one for Doctor of Osteopathy.) In medical writing, and even in casual language, you should not use physician to refer to a doctor who does not have an MD or DO degree.
Dose versus Dosage
These words can be confusing for medical writers and editors as well as those in other fields. Dose is a single or total amount of medication. Dosage is the rate at which the patient receives the medication.
If you are taking a medication and each pill is 25 mg, then each of your pills is a dose of 25 mg. Your doctor might instruct you to take one 25 mg pill every 12 hours. This is the dosage because it specifies both the amount and the rate of administration. If your doctor instructs you to take this dosage for 10 days, your total dose will be 500 mg. Remember, a dose is an amount, only, whereas a dosage is an amount plus an indication of frequency.
Health Care versus Healthcare
Most medical English writers use this term correctly. However, it is common for writers to write it as one word. In formal or scholarly writing, it should always be written as two words. According to Webster’s health care, healthcare, and even health-care are all synonymous and interchangeable. Remember that Webster’s is for general use while the AMA is for professionals.
You might see "healthcare" in the names of companies and in some advertising and marketing literature. This is usually intentional and is done for creative, brand or stylistic reasons. If you are writing for or about a company that uses "healthcare" as one word, you should follow that company's style. However, when writing a research article or any scholarly text, you should always write health care as two words.
Keeping Track of Tracts
It is often colloquial usage to leave out the term, tract, when discussing certain infections. Two examples of this are respiratory infection and urinary infection. However, for the medical writer, the correct forms, including the word tract, must be written as respiratory tract infection and urinary tract infection.
There are so many rules and standards to be aware of when writing in a specialized field such as medicine. Usage is just one of them, and it can be a tricky area for native and non-native English writers alike. That is why there are style manuals, editors, and proofreaders. They are all tools to help avoid and correct errors in medical English writing. We hope this brief discussion of usage can help you to avoid some common errors in your own medical English writing.
医学英語翻訳、医学英文校正サービス （ 英文ネイティブチェック ） 等につきましては、代表者連絡先 ： honyaku@excom-system.com までご連絡ください。
このページの先頭へ
エクスコムシステム ランゲージ サービス(ＥＬＳ) Copyright 2014無断転載禁止。
|
