Introduction to Medical Terminology

Understanding the verbal or written clinical terms and abbreviations commonly used for healthcare communication can be challenging but understanding the basic word structure and definitions of some common word elements makes the meaning of thousands of medical terms clear. ‘Medical terminology’ is the vocabulary used by those who work in the medical field. They use distinct terms to describe the human body, how it works, its disorders and the procedures and treatments used to treat it. Any prospective medical student needs to know the common terminologies used by medical professionals so this course develops your medical fluency and teaches you a language that lets you communicate with doctors, nurses and patients.

We first introduce you to the terms associated with the anatomy, physiology and pathology of the human body and its different parts, using pictures to help you understand and memorise them. You will then learn about the equipment used in a hospital. Medical terminologies consist of ‘stem’ words, prefixes, suffixes, acronyms and abbreviations. We lay out the most common suffixes and prefixes used in medical terminology and explain how to use them to ‘decode’ medical words. We then explore the terms associated with systems of the body such as its central nervous, musculoskeletal and respiratory systems. We also provide terminologies associated with laboratory tests, procedures, therapeutics and more.

This course is ideal for those who want to work in the health and science fields and need to communicate with physicians, nurses, lab technicians and other medical professionals, including support staff like receptionists, medical clerks or patient-care coordinators. On a personal level, understanding medical terminology can explain your own or your loved one's health and facilitates better communication with your doctors and nurses. This course contains illustrated presentations, images and diagrams to help you understand its content. There are no prerequisites for taking the course and our list of acronyms and abbreviations helps you to build a foundation in understanding medical terminology.