scholarly journals Medical Terms in the Arabic Manuscript Kitāb al-mi’a fi al-ṭibb (“Hundred Books on the Skills of Medicine”) by Abu Sahl Isa b. Yahya al-Masihi (the 11th Century)

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 197-211
Author(s):  
Igor V. Gerasimov ◽  
◽  
Yaser H. Akel ◽  

The article is based on the manuscript “Hundred books on skills of Medicine” by Abu Sahl al-Masihi from the collection of the Oriental Department of the Gorky Library of St. Petersburg State University (Ms. O 667). The author of this written monument was regarded as the teacher of Ibn Sina (Avicenna). The text of Abu Sahl al-Masihi is an encyclopedic medical treatise of the XI century. It consists of one hundred “books”, each of which is a separate and independent chapter dedicated to a specific problem of theoretical or practical medicine. The article presents an analysis of Arabic medical terms found in the table of contents to the first book. They can be divided into four categories: borrowings from other languages, obsolete terms, terms found in the Qur’an, and terms with Arabic roots. The authors of the article cited fragments of Quranic texts as an illustration of the early origin of some terms for physiological states. The medical knowledge and traditions of the Arabs played a decisive role in the development of Arab-Muslim medieval medicine. Medical terms of the Arabs, introduced into scientific circulation in the early Middle Ages, are actively used in modern Arabic. The results of the lexical analysis of medical terminology from the first “book” of the treatise reflect the scale of the phenomenon called Arab-Muslim medieval medicine.

Author(s):  
Maria Dahm

Using medical terminology involves a large risk of miscommunication in English-medium consultations as patients often do not know or misunderstand the terms commonly used by physicians, or even misuse terms in their interactions with medical professionals (Hadlow/Pitts 1991; Street 2003). Patients and physicians also frequently associate different meanings with the same medical terms, which further threatens patient-physician communication (Hadlow/Pitts 1991). To date most investigations on the impact of medical terminology have focused on native English speaking (NES) individuals in monolingual encounters, while insights from non-native English speaking (NNES) physicians and patients have been largely neglected. Through semi-structured interviews, this qualitative explorative study investigates the experiences of patients and physicians from diverse linguistic backgrounds in medical encounters within Australia. A particular focus is given to the way NES and NNES participants perceive and judge the impact of the meaning of medical terms on patient-physician communication. Findings suggest that both the use and meaning of medical terminology are perceived and judged very differently by individuals who come from different language backgrounds and who hold varying degrees of medical knowledge. Findings indicate that common blanket recommendations urging medical professionals to avoid or explain jargon may be futile since physicians and patient also diverge in their understanding of what constitutes jargon or medical terminology.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 177-190
Author(s):  
Daqing He ◽  
Zhendong Wang ◽  
Khushboo Thaker ◽  
Ning Zou

AbstractAcademic collections, such as COVID-19 Open Research Dataset (CORD-19), contain a large number of scholarly articles regarding COVID-19 and other related viruses. These articles represent the latest development in combating COVID-19 pandemic in various disciplines. However, it is difficult for laypeople to access these articles due to the term mismatch problem caused by their limited medical knowledge. In this article, we present an effort of helping laypeople to access the CORD-19 collection by translating and expanding laypeople's keywords to their corresponding medical terminology using the National Library of Medicine's Consumer Health Vocabulary. We then developed a retrieval system called Search engine for Laypeople to access the COVID-19 literature (SLAC) using open-source software. Utilizing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's FAQ questions as the basis for developing common questions that laypeople could be interested in, we performed a set of experiments for testing the SLAC system and the translation and expansion (T&E) process. Our experiment results demonstrate that the T&E process indeed helped to overcome the term mismatch problem and mapped laypeople terms to the medical terms in the academic articles. But we also found that not all laypeople's search topics are meaningful to search on the CORD-19 collection. This indicates the scope and the limitation of enabling laypeople to search on academic article collection for obtaining high-quality information.


2020 ◽  
pp. 103-107
Author(s):  
H. B. Palasiuk ◽  
O. D. Kolodnytska

Many medical terms have been replaced by descriptive names taken from everyday vocabulary, ancient mythology, etc. due to the lack of an appropriate term reflecting a body organ or a disease in ancient times. Knowing the etymology of the medical terms contributes to their deeper and better understanding, memorizing and practical use by highly qualified future physicians. All of these issues prompted us to write the article. Latin was the international language of medicine until the 18th century. Greek terms were created at the times of Hippocrates, Galen and their precursors. Aul Cornelius Celsus established the basis of Latin medical terminology as well as Latin terms were created in the Middle Ages. Most of the Greek terms were Latinized. Modern European languages vocabulary gradually penetrated into medical terminology only in the 19th century. Much of the medical vocabulary consists of the names due to metaphorization phenomenon of common names, and the names of household items. Such names can be subdivided into three groups according to a theory of nomination. The first group includes lexe­mes according to the association in appearance, e.g., membrana arachnoidea (derives from Geek αραχνη (arachne, es f–a “spider”)) has English equivalent the “arachnoid membrane” of the brain. The second group covers terms due to functional similarity, e.g., incus, ūdis f denoting an “anvil” or “incus” (one of the auditory ossicles contained in the tympanic cavity) resembling the anvil used in black­smithing. Both terms according to the association in appearance and functional similarity belong to the third group, e.g., pelvis, is f denotes a “basin” or “container” in colloquial language and it means a “pelvis” in anatomy, e.g, pelvis minor – the “lesser or true pelvis”, pelvis maior – the “greater pelvis”. The prospects of further research are in the study of mythonyms and eponyms according to the great importance of developing future physicians’ terminological competence and clinical thinking.


2002 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 356-365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judy Wakabayashi

Abstract The main difficulties specific to medical translation are students' lack of medical knowledge and their unfamiliarity with medical terminology and phraseology. These difficulties can be partially overcome by a bilingual introduction to the key anatomical terms, diagnostic terms, symptomatic terms, operative terms, laboratory tests, and clinical procedures related to each of the body systems. Together with ample practice in actual translation, a medical translation course should also include information on useful resource materials; Latin and Greek roots, affixes and combining forms; common medical abbreviations; "lay" terms vs medical terms; medical English style; and the standard format of medical journal articles.


2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (6) ◽  
pp. 126-137
Author(s):  
Tatyana G. Korneeva

The article discusses the problem of the formation of philosophical prose in the Persian language. The first section presents a brief excursion into the history of philosophical prose in Persian and the stages of formation of modern Persian as a language of science and philosophy. In the Arab-Muslim philosophical tradition, representatives of various schools and trends contributed to the development of philosophical terminology in Farsi. The author dwells on the works of such philosophers as Ibn Sīnā, Nāṣir Khusraw, Naṣīr al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī, Aḥmad al-Ghazālī, ʼAbū Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī and gives an overview of their works written in Persian. The second section poses the question whether the Persian language proved able to compete with the Arabic language in the field of science. The author examines the style of philosophical prose in Farsi, considering the causes of creation of Persian-language philosophical texts and defining their target audience. The article presents viewpoints of modern orientalist researchers as well as the views of medieval philosophers who wrote in Persian. We find that most philosophical texts in Persian were written for a public who had little or no knowledge of the Arabic language, yet wanted to get acquainted with current philosophical and religious doctrines, albeit in an abbreviated format. The conclusion summarizes and presents two positions regarding the necessity of writing philosophical prose in Persian. According to one point of view, Persian-language philosophical works helped people who did not speak Arabic to get acquainted with the concepts and views of contemporary philosophy. According to an alternative view, there was no special need to compose philosophical texts in Persian, because the corpus of Arabic philosophical terminology had already been formed, and these Arabic terms were widely and successfully used, while the new Persian philosophical vocabulary was difficult to understand.


Mediaevistik ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 252-254
Author(s):  
Albrecht Classen

Throughout times, magic and magicians have exerted a tremendous influence, and this even in our (post)modern world (see now the contributions to Magic and Magicians in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Time, ed. Albrecht Classen, 2017; here not mentioned). Allegra Iafrate here presents a fourth monograph dedicated to magical objects, primarily those associated with the biblical King Solomon, especially the ring, the bottle which holds a demon, knots, and the flying carpet. She is especially interested in the reception history of those symbolic objects, both in antiquity and in the Middle Ages, both in western and in eastern culture, that is, above all, in the Arabic world, and also pursues the afterlife of those objects in the early modern age. Iafrate pursues not only the actual history of King Solomon and those religious objects associated with him, but the metaphorical objects as they made their presence felt throughout time, and this especially in literary texts and in art-historical objects.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 110-121
Author(s):  
María Shcherbakova

В течение последних нескольких десятилетий проблемы терминологии привлекли внимание многих исследователей и ученых, что может объясняться растущей важностью науки в жизни людей. Развитие медицинской терминологии началось много веков назад и продолжается по сей день. Основная цель этой работы заключается в рассмотрении терминологического глоссария сердечно-сосудистой системы, созданного на основе  Nomina Anatomical 2001 года, а также в комплексном анализе перевода специализированной терминологии. Наряду с разработкой испано-русского двуязычного глоссария, мы также обратили внимание на анализ собранных данных и комментарии, которые могут предотвратить ошибки и путаницу среди переводчиков и получателей переведенной информации. Для достижения целей мы прибегли к методу анализа параллельных текстов на выбранную тему в испанском и русском языках, а также к методу визуализации, что позволило нам перевести термины из списка и гарантировать высокий уровень точности, объективности, корректности, эквивалентности и адекватности. Основной гипотезой данной статьи является то, что, несмотря на греческое и латинское происхождение большинства выбранных терминов на испанском и значительной их части в русском языке, дословный перевод представляет собой наиболее серьезную и наиболее распространенную ошибку, которую совершают переводчики медицинских текстов, что объясняется особенностями развития медицинских систем в русском и испанском языках, где каждая отрасль терминологии сосредоточилась на своих собственных эволюционных принципах.Resumen: En las últimas décadas, los problemas de la terminología han llamado la atención de muchos investigadores y científicos, lo cual se explica por la creciente importancia que adquiere la ciencia en la vida de las personas. La terminología médica empezó su formación hace siglos y sigue desarrollándose hasta el momento. El objetivo de nuestro trabajo es dar cuenta de la creación de un glosario de la terminología del sistema cardiovascular basada en la Nómina Anatómica del año 2001 y un análisis exhaustivo de la traducción de términos realizada. Además de la elaboración de un glosario bilingüe español-ruso también nos hemos centrado en el análisis de datos recogidos y comentarios que pueden prevenir errores y confusiones para los traductores y otros destinatarios. Para conseguir los objetivos propuestos hemos optado principalmente por el método de análisis de textos paralelos acerca del tema elegido en español y en ruso, así como el de la metodología de visualización, lo que nos ha permitido traducir los términos de la lista representada garantizando el máximo nivel de fidelidad, objetividad, precisión, equivalencia y adecuación. La hipótesis principal del presente artículo consiste en que, a pesar del origen griego y latín de la mayoría de los términos seleccionados en castellano y una gran parte de los términos en ruso, la traducción literal de éstos representa el error más grave y más frecuente de los traductores de los textos médicos ya que debido a las peculiaridades del desarrollo de los sistemas de lenguajes médicos en español y en ruso, la terminología de cada idioma ha seguido sus propias pautas de evolución.Abstract: During the last few decades the problems of terminology have caught the attention of many researchers and scientists which can be explained by the growing importance of science in the lives of people. Medical terminology formation began centuries ago and keeps developing nowadays. The main objective of this paper is to discuss the terminological glossary of the cardiovascular system created based on the Nomina Anatomical 2001 as well as the comprehensive analysis of specialized terminology translation. Apart from the development of the Spanish-Russian bilingual glossary, I have also focused on the analysis of data collected and comments that can prevent errors and confusion among translators and recipients of the translated information. To achieve the objectives the method of analysis of parallel texts on the subject chosen has been used in Spanish and in Russian, as well as that of visualization, which allowed us to translate the terms from the list and guarantee the highest level of fidelity, objectivity, accuracy, equivalence and adequacy. The main hypothesis of this article is that, despite the Greek and Latin origin of most of the terms selected in Spanish and a large part of the terms in Russian, their literal translation represents the most serious and most common mistake that translators in healthcare setting make due to the peculiarities of the development of medical systems in Spanish and Russian languages, where each language terminology has followed its own guidelines of evolution.  


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1957 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 715-717

The Ninth Annual Summer Clinics of The Children's Hospital in Denver, Colorado will be held June 24, 25, and 26, 1957. Designed for all physicians concerned with the care of children, the course will present recent advances in medical knowledge appropriate to the first few weeks of life, and will emphasize methods for the early recognition of disease, discuss emergency procedures of value, and outline successful programs of therapy. Guest faculty this year will be Dr. Stewart H. Clifford, Assistant Clinical Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Dr. H. William Clatworthy, Jr., Associate Professor of Pediatric Surgery, Ohio State University, and Dr. Edith L. Potter, Professor of Pathology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The University of Chicago.


Author(s):  
TATIANA V. LUKOYANOVA ◽  
◽  
LYUBOV M. KASIMTSEVA ◽  

He problem of interaction between language and society is more and more relevant in the modern world. Changes of the world have influenced the discourse in various spheres of communication. Moreover the progress of medicine has led to changes in the system of medical terms, and, consequently, to difficulties in understanding of terms in the ordinary consciousness. A person always wants to understand other people and to be understood by them. So it is the main goal of communication. The article deals with the issue of the functioning of medical terms in the minds of first-year French-speaking students. First-year stu- dents have the ordinary consciousness. Medical terms, which are studied by them (first-year students), function in the ordinary consciousness in incorrect form. It's because they are based on associations, feelings which the person has during the process of cognition, and, therefore, they must be interpreted. During the process of learning, there is a need to clarify the personal meanings that medical students have in regarding to special terms. In this article the author gives the results of the research concerning the French-speaking students' knowledge of medical terminology. The author gives examples of the perception and rethinking of medical terms based on common knowledge and examines the formation of scientific knowledge to develop the language of medicine in the consciousness of students and its competent use in the future.


Author(s):  
Seregin N. ◽  
◽  
Tishkin A. ◽  
Matrenin S. ◽  
Parshikova T. ◽  
...  

The article presents a collection of iron tools from the burials of the Rouran period, studied at the Choburak-I funeral complex. The published materials come from eleven undisturbed burials excavated by the expedition of the Altai State University. The article provides information about twelve knives, four awls, and products with an unidentified functional purpose. The authors provided information on the peculiarities of the location of these items in the graves, made a morphological description of the recorded specimens, compared them with already known items from other sites of the Bulan-Koby archaeological culture of Altai, and from complexes excavated in adjacent territories. It was established that the analyzed objects had a rather long period of existence within the framework of the Xianbei-Rouran period (2nd - 5th centuries AD). The published materials expand the source base for studying the life support system of the Altai population at the turn of the late antiquity and the Middle Ages. The presented findings actualize the continuation of research in the field of a comprehensive analysis of tools and household items of cattle breeders in the region in the indicated period. Keywords: altai, Bulan-Koby culture, tools, knife, Awl, chronology


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