Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
148
Unit 1 Health Informatics Career Pathway
large tongue, lips, eyes, and hands to show that these parts use
a larger area of the brain for motor control than the legs or nose.
You can create an exaggerated image like the homunculus for
whichever term you’re trying to learn.
• Create a short scene with dramatic voices and actions to go with
the information you are trying to remember, then practice acting it
out. You will remember that the “brachial region” is on your arm if
you hold your arm and say in a childish voice, “I breaky my arm!”
• Use humor, especially if it is shocking. This can make things very
hard to forget. For example, you might think of the interesting
contrast between cleave, which means to cut or split apart, and
cleavage, which is created by pressing the breasts together.
The more strongly you can picture what you are trying to learn and
associate it with something you already know, the more easily you will
recall it later. Make your learning more memorable by using all of your
senses as you study.
RECALL YOUR READING
1. _________ devices can help students remember and organize new
information.
2. Vividly connecting information with many _________ makes it easier to
recall information later.
3. _________ use the first letters of each word to make a new word.
4. Use the _________ sequence of a word to remember the order of items in
a list.
Medical Terminology
Healthcare workers use a special language called medical
terminology to communicate clearly about their patients. Understanding
and using medical terminology is like speaking a foreign language. It
takes effort and practice to speak another language, such as Spanish or
French. You will fi nd the same is true as you study medical terminology.
Most medical terms come from Greek and Latin root words. Learning
these origins may help you understand and remember terms.
All healthcare workers must be able to read, write, and understand
medical terminology so they can communicate clearly with other
professionals about their patients. Some healthcare workers, such as
medical transcriptionists, will spend most of their day reading and
writing medical terms. The ability to understand written and spoken
medical terminology is essential to prevent errors at all stages of care and
treatment.
Abbreviations
Abbreviations provide a shortened way to write or say medical words
and phrases. You are already familiar with many abbreviations used in
medical terminology
special vocabulary that is
used in healthcare and is
often formed from Latin and
Greek word parts