What's in a (medical specialty) name?

by Jill Kruse, DO

Doctors are taught medical terms and jargon in medical school like a secret code. Many medical terms are rooted in Greek and Latin. Over the course of our training, these words become second nature and we become fluent in this medical “language”, although we are also expected to talk to our patients using simple terminology. However, most specialties in medicine still use the original Greek and Latin roots for their names. Once you know where these names come from, everything makes sense.

Most names start with a Greek or Latin word followed by “ologist” or “ology” from Greek word “Logos” which means “the study of” or “Science of”. Instead of calling themselves a “heart doctor” we call them Cardiologists. Cardiology comes from the Greek word “Kardia” which means “heart.” This trend follows for several other specialties. Lung doctors are Pulmonologists from the Latin “Pulmon” which means “lung”. Obstetrics is from the Latin term “obstetrix” which means “midwife” or literally, “one who stands opposite”. However, Gynecologist comes from the Greek term “gyne” meaning “woman”.

Liver doctors are called Hepatologists using the Greek terms “Hepar” or “Hepato” meaning “of liver”. Hematologists are doctors who study blood and the term comes from the Greek work “haimo” meaning “blood”. Your skin specialists, the Dermatologists, get their name from the Greek work “Dermatos” which means “skin” or “hide”. The Nephrologists, or kidney doctors, have taken the Greek root for kidney, which is “nephros” to get their name. Neurologists study nerves, and the Greek term “neuro” or “neuron” means “string or nerve”.

A Pathologist looks at tissue samples under a microscope in order to diagnose diseases. Their Greek root “Pathos” comes from the terms for “suffering” or “disease”. This branch of medicine looks for the cause, development, as well as the natural progression of diseases. The term anesthesia was first used in the 1880’s, but it also comes from the Greek prefix “an” which means “without” combined with “aisthesis” which means “feeling” or “perception”. That describes their goal for patients during surgery – to go “without feeling” pain during a procedure.

Just when you think you know the rules, there is Endocrinology. Endocrinology studies the endocrine system which are the organs in the body the secrete hormones. “Endo” is the Latinized form of the Greek word “krinein” meaning “secreting internally”. The term Rheumatologist is not quite as literal as some of the others. They specialize in diseases like arthritis and the name originates from the Greek word “Rheuma” meaning “that which flows” or “current/stream”. This comes from a 17th Century idea that arthritis would flow throughout the body affecting many areas.

Hopefully this helps “crack the code” of why different specialties have such different and unique names. You can impress your friends and family with this newfound knowledge. However your Cardiologist will be just as sweet if you call him/her a “heart doctor”, because as Shakespeare’s Juliet asked, “What is in a name?”

Jill Kruse, D.O. is part of The Prairie Doc® team of physicians and currently practices as a hospitalist in Brookings, South Dakota. Follow The Prairie Doc® at http://www.prairiedoc.org.