Medical Library

Decoding “DocSpeak:” How Doctors Get More Respect for Their Diagnoses Than Your Mother Gets for Hers

by Steven Brown, M.D., Ph.D.
©2008

When visiting a country where most of the people do not speak English, I always buy a phrase book that teaches me enough of the native tongue to get by. If I am not able to ask where to find the bathroom, the trip will seem very long indeed.

As you know, doctors do not speak English. When I went to medical school, I learned “DocSpeak,” and that foreign language is now a barrier to communication with those I am trying to help.

Of course, the language of medicine also makes me sound smarter than I really am, since I am using words you do not know. Even if I am really saying the same thing your mother already tried to tell you, it sounds more sophisticated.

I am going to let you in on a few secrets about our language in the hopes that it will help you the next time you get sick. As we go through each question the doctor asks you, we’ll add a word or part of a word to the diagnosis. At the end, you will have the diagnosis in “DocSpeak.”

  1. How long have you had this problem? (If less than a week, start your diagnosis with the word “acute.” If more than a week, use the word “chronic.”)

  2. What is the cause of the problem? (If it is viral, use the word “viral.” If it is from bacteria, use the word “bacterial.” If you know the type of bacteria or virus, you can substitute the name of the organism. (For example, a “strep” throat refers to the bacteria that causes the inflammation, and would therefore be “streptococcal.”) If the problem is due to allergies, the term is “allergic.” If we do not know the cause, we use the term “idiopathic,” meaning we have no idea what is causing the problem. (No joke. That is really what it means.))

  3. What part of the body is involved? (If it is the nose, the term is “rhino” (no fooling). If the throat, the term is “pharynx.” The heart=”cardio.” The lungs=”pneumo.” The stomach=”gastro.” The intestines=”entero.” The muscles=”myo.” The brain or the nerves=”neuro.” The joints=”arthro.”)

  4. What is the nature of the problem? (If there is inflammation or irritation, add “-itis.” If there is too much of something, add”-osis.” If the problem is a disease process, use “-pathy,” which simply means disease. If the problem is pain, the suffix is “algia.”)

Now let us see what you have learned. Suppose you are at a party this weekend. Your friend Jim walks up and you notice that he is sniffling.

“What’s wrong, Jim?”

“My nose has been running all the time. I must be allergic to something.”

Rubbing your chin thoughtfully, you reply, “It sounds like you have a case of chronic allergic rhinitis.”

Later in the evening, Susie tells you that her daughter has had a sore throat for a few days.

“I sure hope it’s not acute streptococcal pharyngitis,” you reply in a concerned voice.

“Me, too,” says Susie, looking a little confused.

Now let us try it backwards. You go to the doctor because your stomach hurts and you are going to the bathroom a lot. The doctor tells you that the diagnosis is acute viral gastroenteritis.

“I’m paying you 30 bucks to tell me I have diarrhea? I already told you that!”

If you have ever used a phrasebook, you know the downside. The listener may assume that you are fluent in their language and launch into paragraphs that you do not understand. Because of this problem, beware of using DocSpeak with your doctor—you may end up understanding even less of what she tells you.

“DocSpeak” Glossary

Most medical words can be broken down into prefixes and suffixes. Therefore, much of this glossary is to tell you those parts of the word so you can discover the overall meaning. Examples are included.

  • Acute: less than a week
  • -algia: suffix meaning pain (e.g., arthralgia means joint pain.)
  • Angio-: prefix meaning related to blood vessels
  • Arthro-: prefix meaning related to the joints (e.g., arthritis means inflammation of the joints.)
  • Cardio-: prefix meaning related to the heart
  • Chronic: more than a week
  • Entero-: prefix meaning related to the intestines
  • Gastro-: prefix meaning related to the stomach
  • Idiopathic: of unknown cause
  • Myo-: prefix meaning related to the muscles
  • -itis: suffix meaning inflammation (e.g., gastritis is inflammation of the stomach.)
  • Neuro-: prefix meaning related to the brain or the nerves (e.g., neuropathy means a disease of the nerves.)
  • -pathy: suffix meaning disease (e.g., cardiomyopathy is disease of the heart muscle.)
  • Pharyng-: prefix meaning related to the throat (e.g., pharyngitis is inflammation of the throat.)
  • -plasty: suffix meaning an operation on, (e.g., rhinoplasty is plastic surgery on the nose, while angioplasty is surgery on a blood vessel.)
  • Pneumo-: prefix meaning related to the lungs
  • Rhino-: prefix meaning related to the nose