(Part of a series based upon Stiles, The Anatomy of Medical Terminology (Radix Antiqua 2015; copyright 1993; ISBN 978-1-988941-240; to be revised by Stiles and Russell 2017)
DESPERATE DISORDERS
(Or, Desperate Remedies for Desperate Diseases?)
DESPERATE DISORDERS
(Or, Desperate Remedies for Desperate Diseases?)
For a
little comic relief, here are some actual student errors made on exams, most of
which I collected in my early days of being involved in the teaching of Medical
Terminology and trying to figure out how students might be taught just a little
bit better. On a serious note, error
analysis being one of the best ways of teaching this material, I am happy to
report that since writing the The Anatomyof Medical Terminology I haven't been able to add items to this list as
often as part of me would still like to!
The
errors are all real; in some cases I've edited for clarity.
The
ones presented here (about a third of the collection) fall into one major
category, which could be described as "Errors of Conception or
Usage." They seem to be further
dividable, into the following subcategories:
Errors
involving an English word used in a wrong sense
Erroneous
choice of the wrong English word, two meanings being possible
Numerical
misconception
Misperception
of relationships between word-parts
reversal
of order
other
errors of "modification"
The words below are presented in order of these
subcategories. As a "homework
assignment," see if the boundaries of these groupings are as obvious to
you as they once seemed to me. Enjoy!
retro-graphy the
recording of the behind
eu-toc-ia an
abnormal condition of goodness in children
necro-sperm-ia an
abnormal condition involving deadly sperm
necr-ectomy excision
causing death
chromo-rhin-orrhea the
flowing of colors from the nose
meso-nas-al pertaining
to a medium nose
dent-iparous pertaining
to the (proper) bearing of one's teeth
cerat-itis horny inflammation
(or) inflammation
with horn-shaped lumps
dextro-card-ia a
condition involving a right-handed heart
peri-xen-itis inflammation
when around a stranger
tricho-card-ia a
condition characterized by a hair-like heart
(or) an
abnormal condition involving hearty hair
cystido-trachel-otomy the
cutting of the neck and bladder
post-hepat-itic behind
(= causing) the inflammation of the liver
sarc-omphalo-cele the
protrusion of a fleshy navel
nephel-opia a
visual fixation on clouds
hippo-uria the
abnormal presence of horses in the urine
hypo-orchid-ia an
abnormal condition of being below the testicles
anthropo-phagy the
swallowing of humans
orth-uria the
abnormal presence of straight things in the urine
hyper-calci-uria the
abnormal presence of calcium in something above urine
karyo-phage one
who eats the nuclei of cells
brachy-uran-ic pertaining
to a short sky
sinistro-ocular pertaining
to the left eyes
null-ipara a
mother who has borne no children
oligo-phren-ia a
condition involving few diaphragms
chrono-gnosis an
abnormal condition involving chronological knowledge
erythro-phag-ia a
condition of turning red while eating
homo-gam-ous pertaining
to the same marriage
galact-emia the
abnormal presence of milk in the blood
irid-emia the
abnormal presence of iris fragments in the blood
leuko-cyt-uria the
abnormal presence of urine in white blood cells
tricho-gloss-ia an
abnormal condition of the tongue in the hair
tricho-myc-osis an
abnormal condition involving hairy fungi
gyneco-mania female
insanity
trichocardia an
abnormal condition of the hair, involving the heart
necr-ectomy death
by excision
antro-neuro-lysis the
disintegration of the cavities of the nerves
heter-esthesia the
perception of oneself as different
pyo-pneumo-cholecyst-itis
the
inflammation of gall bladder, lungs and pus
anti-nephr-it-ic pertaining
to the inflammation of the part up against the kidneys
(or) pertaining
to an inflammation operating against the kidney
litho-phone a
stone instrument for hearing
acro-cephal--ia an
abnormal condition of the extremities being in the head
pseudochrom-esthest-ic
pertaining
to the perception that one has been falsely colored
pseudo-encephalo-malacia
the softening of a false brain
the softening of a false brain
myxo-en-chondr-oma a
tumor involving the cartilage inside the mucous membranes
quint-ipara five
things beside one another
(More available on demand!)
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