How Well do You Know Medical Lingo?

By: Becky Stigall
Estimated Completion Time
3 min
How Well do You Know Medical Lingo?
Image: Shutterstock

About This Quiz

Sure, you watch "Grey's Anatomy," but do you know what they are saying? See how well you know the meaning of these general medical terms by taking this quiz.
If the ER doctor says your upper arm has a laceration, what is he really saying?
Your skin is torn.
Your skin is burnt.
Your skin is red.
You have a rash.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A laceration is a tear. Lacerations are typically not neat tears, but rather they tend to be rough or jagged.

Advertisement

If you have a lesion, what is wrong with you?
You have a wound.
You have a fever.
You have a rash.
You have a broken bone.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A lesion may refer to a wound or some sort of structural change. The word once referred to any type of hurt or pain.

Advertisement

A weak spot in an artery is called what?
Vein
Vessel
Aneurysm
Hole
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

You can get an aneurysm in an artery, vein, or your heart. A ruptured aneurysm is often fatal.

Advertisement

Which word means cancer-causing?
Laceration
Lesion
Epilepsy
Carcinogenic
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The word carcinogenic means cancer-causing. Tobacco and asbestos are carcinogenic substances.

Advertisement

The inability to become pregnant is a _________ issue.
Nervous
Reproductive
Gastrointestinal
Skeletal
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The reproductive system is responsible for reproduction organs in men and women. The word reproductive simply means "pertaining to reproduction."

Advertisement

If you have a cold but you don't have any symptoms, a doctor might say you are what?
Feverish
Cold
Not sick
Asymptomatic
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

People who are carriers of diseases might be asymptomatic. Another term for asymptomatic is clinically silent.

Advertisement

Someone who is in a coma is said to be what?
Dead
Unconscious
Comatose
Sleeping
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Someone who is comatose is said to be in a coma. Comas may be injury- or medically induced.

Advertisement

What type of brain injury results from a blow to the head?
Hematoma
Hemangioma
Coma
Concussion
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Concussions may include damage to the brain and/or spinal cord. Concussion stems from a Latin word that means "to shake."

Advertisement

If you have a blood clot outside a blood vessel, what do you have?
Concussion
Rash
Hematoma
Fever
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A hematoma is a collection of clotted blood outside a blood vessel. A visible hematoma is commonly called a bruise.

Advertisement

If a surgeon is ready to make an incision, what is she ready to do?
Cut
Break
Heat
Prod
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The word incision means cut. The word stems from the Latin incisionem, which means "cutting into."

Advertisement

A malignant tumor on the skin is called what by a doctor?
Bruise
Rash
Melanoma
Fever
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Melanoma is a type of skin cancer. Exposure to ultraviolet light is a primary cause of melanoma.

Advertisement

Which of the following is a type of severe headache?
Stress
Pressure
Migraine
Fever
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A migraine headache may last up to three days. They are more common in women than in men.

Advertisement

If something is poisonous, it is _____.
Bad
Yucky
Toxic
Tasty
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Something that is toxic can potentially cause damage. It stems from the Latin, toxicus.

Advertisement

To a nurse, an open sore is called what?
Boo boo
Rash
Ulcer
Aneurysm
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Ulcers may occur on the skin or on mucus membrane, like the stomach. It is related to the Greek, helkos, which means "sore."

Advertisement

A substance that counteracts the effects of a poison, would be called what?
Salt
Tonic
Antidote
Bandage
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The word "antidote" stems from a Greek word that means to give as a remedy. Antidotes are made by injecting toxins, then collecting the antibodies.

Advertisement

What would a doctor give you for a bacterial infection?
Antibiotic
Antidote
Aneurysm
Nothing
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Some natural substances have antibiotic properties. Modern antibiotics, like penicillin, kill and/or stop bacteria from growing.

Advertisement

What substance might be used to kill germs?
Antiseptic
Aneurysm
Antidote
Argnine
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Before antiseptics, many surgical patients died because surgeons did not know that germs caused infections. Common antiseptics include alcohol, iodine and hydrogen peroxide.

Advertisement

Something that is harmless is what?
Malignant
Asymptomatic
Old
Benign
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The word benign is also used to indicate that something is not malignant. The term is often used to describe cancer.

Advertisement

Blood has to do what to form a clot?
Drain
Heat up
Cool off
Coagulate
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The word "coagulate" means to thicken or congeal. Someone whose blood does not clot may have hemophilia.

Advertisement

A recovery period is called what?
Rest
Recuperation
Coma
Convalescence
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Convalescence typically refers to a long recovery period. The process is gradual rather than sudden.

Advertisement

A medical examination might result in what?
Fee
Fever
Diagnosis
Discharge
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A diagnosis is decision based on an examination. The word comes from a Greek word that means "to distinguish."

Advertisement

Which word means outcome to a doctor?
Prognosis
Diagnosis
Proptosis
Neurosis
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The word prognosis means outcome or probable course. The word is often used to predict survival.

Advertisement

When the symptoms of a disease disappear, the patient may be in _________.
The hospital
Remission
Trouble
Debt
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The word remission means a period during which disease symptoms are no longer evident. The term is often used for someone who has cancer.

Advertisement

If the ER doctor gives you a stitch, what has he given you?
A suture
A pill
A crutch
A diagnosis
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The word suture means to join two edges together by sewing. Suture may be a verb, meaning the act of suturing, or a noun, referring to the suture itself.

Advertisement

Treatment of a disease may be referred to as what?
Medicine
Hospitalization
Recovery
Therapy
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Therapy may be designed to treat an illness, disorder or disease. It comes from the Greek word for healing.

Advertisement

When a test result is beneficial, your doctor might say it is what?
Positive
Gross
Negative
Undetermined
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Negative can actually be a good thing in medical terminology. Negative simply means normal.

Advertisement

If your doctor can't find a cause for your symptoms, she might say the condition is what?
Idiopathic
Negative
Positive
Not there
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The word idiopathic means "of unknown cause." The word idiopathy refers to the disease itself.

Advertisement

If you have a problem with your spine, your condition might be said to be ________.
Muscular
Spinular
Mental
Skeletal
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The skeletal system includes the bones and joints. The word simply means "pertaining to the skeleton."

Advertisement

If your doctor does a blood test for a disease and the disease is found, the results are said to be what?
Positive
Negative
High
Low
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Positive is typically not positive in the medical world. The word positive usually means abnormal.

Advertisement

If you have a problem with a muscle, your issue is said to be what?
Skeletal
Muscular
Arthritis
Bursitis
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Muscular issues pertain to the muscles and tendons of the body. The word muscular simply means "relating to or dependent on the muscles."

Advertisement

If you can't smell anything, you are having a _______ issue.
Auditory
Visual
Diabetic
Sensory
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The word sensory means "pertaining to the senses." The senses include hearing, smell, taste, touch and sight.

Advertisement

If you have a problem with your bladder, your issue is with your _______ system.
Cardiovascular
Nervous
Skeletal
Urinary
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The urinary system includes the kidneys, bladder, urethra and ureters. The word refers to anything related to the production, storage and elimination of urine.

Advertisement

The stomach is part of what system?
Urinary
Circulatory
Nervous
Gastrointestinal
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The gastrointestinal system includes the mouth, esophagus, stomach, intestines, pancreas, liver and gallbladder. The word refers to the stomach and intestines.

Advertisement

The lungs are part of what bodily system?
Respiratory
Reproductive
Nervous
Skeletal
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The respiratory system includes the nose and lungs. The word respiratory means pertaining to respiration.

Advertisement

The heart is part of what body system?
Reproductive
Lumbar
Nervous
Cardiovascular
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The cardiovascular system includes the heart, blood and blood vessels. The word cardiovascular simply means "pertaining to the heart and blood vessels."

Advertisement

You Got:
/35
Shutterstock