Medical terminology
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Medical terminology is a vocabulary for accurately describing the alien body and associated components, conditions, processes and process in a science-based manner. It is to be used in the medical and nursing fields. This systematic approach to word building and term comprehension is based on the concept of: (1) word roots, (2) prefixes, and (3) suffixes. The word root is a term derived from a source language such as Greek or Latin and usually describes a body part. The prefix can be added in front of the term to modify the word root by giving additional information about the location of an organ, the number of parts, or time involved. Suffixes are attached to the end of a word root to add meaning such as condition, disease process, or procedure.
In the process of creating medical terminology, certain rules of language apply. These rules are part of language mechanics called linguistics. So, when a term is developed, some logical process is applied. The word root is developed to include a vowel sound following the term to add a smoothing action to the sound of the word when applying a suffix. The result is the formation of a new term with a vowel attached (word root + vowel) called a combining form. In English, the most common vowel used in the formation of the combining form is the letter -o-, added to the word root.
Prefixes do not normally require further modification to be added to a word root because the prefix normally ends in a vowel or vowel sound, although in some cases they may assimilate slightly and an in- may change to im- or syn- to sym-.
Suffixes are categorized as either (1) needing the combining form, or (2) not needing the combining form since they start with a vowel.
Decoding the medical term is an important process, (See: Morphology). Once experience is gained in the process of forming and decoding medical terminology, the process begins to make sense and becomes easier. One approach involves breaking down the word by evaluating the meaning of the suffix first, then prefix, and finally the word root. This will generally produce a good result for the experienced health care professional. When in doubt, the result should be verified by a medical terminology dictionary. The process of learning a new language, such as medical terminology, is a challenging, yet attainable goal as the basic rules—once learned—make the process easier. (See Applied Linguistics)
One quick online reference is a dictionary search engine. The allows one to enter a medical term into a dialogue box and initiate a search. There are also numerous online medical dictionaries to select from. Once a term is located, the response will be subdivided into several basic formats, including General usage, Medicine, Law, Business, and others.
The use of a medical dictionary or Internet search engine is most helpful in learning the exact meaning of a medical term. However, if the basic concepts of word building are understood, many words are understandable to the student of medical terminology.
ttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_terminology
Osteology
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Osteology is the scientific study of bones. A subdiscipline of anthropology and archeology, osteology is a detailed study of the structure of bones, skeletal elements, teeth, morphology, function, disease, pathology, the process of ossification (from cartilaginous molds), the resistance and hardness of bones (biophysics), etc. often used by scientists with identification of human remains with regard to age, death, sex, growth, and development in a biocultural context.
Methods
A typical analysis will include:- an inventory of the skeletal elements present
- a dental inventory
- aging data, based upon epiphyseal fusion and dental eruption (for subadults) and deterioration of the pubic symphysis or sternal end of ribs (for adults)
- stature and other metric data
- ancestry
- non-metric traits
- pathology and/or cultural modifications
Applications
Compared Osteology Room in Natural History Museum of La Plata, Argentina.
Great Dane Skeleton Compared to a Chihuahua Skeleton at The Museum of Osteology, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Osteological approaches are frequently applied to investigations in disciplines such as forensic science, physical anthropology and archaeology, and has a place in research on topics including:Health is the general condition of a person in all aspects. It is also a level of functional and/or metabolic efficiency of an organism, often implicitly human. From Google dictionary: "The state of being free from illness or injury".[1]
At the time of the creation of the World Health Organization (WHO), in 1948, health was defined as "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity".[2][3]
Only a handful of publications have focused specifically on the definition of health and its evolution in the first 6 decades. Some of them highlight its lack of operational value and the problem created by use of the word "complete." Others declare the definition, which has not been modified since 1948, "simply a bad one."[4]
In 1986, the WHO, in the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion, said that health is "a resource for everyday life, not the objective of living. Health is a positive concept emphasizing social and personal resources, as well as physical capacities." Classification systems such as the WHO Family of International Classifications (WHO-FIC), which is composed of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) and the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) also define health.
Overall health is achieved through a combination of physical, mental, and social well-being, which, together is commonly referred to as the Health Triangle.
Demographers most commonly study mortality using the [[Life Table]], a statistical device which provides information about the mortality conditions (most notably the life expectancy) in the population.<ref>[http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pubs/pubd/lftbls/lftbls.htm N C H S - Life Tables<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
Migration refers to the movement of persons from an origin place to a destination place across some pre-defined, political boundary. Migration researchers do not designate movements 'migrations' unless they are somewhat permanent. Thus demographers do not consider tourists and travelers to be migrating. While demographers who study migration typically do so through census data on place of residence, indirect sources of data including tax forms and labor force surveys are also important.<ref>Donald T. Rowland ''Demographic Methods and Concepts'' Ch. 11 ISBN 0-19-875263-6</ref>
Demography is today widely taught in many universities across the world, attracting students with initial training in social sciences, statistics or health studies. Being at the crossroads of several disciplines such as [[sociology]], [[economics]], [[epidemiology]], [[geography]], [[anthropology]] and [[history]], demography offers tools to approach a large range of population issues by combining a more technical quantitative approach that represents the core of the discipline with many other methods borrowed from social or other sciences. Demographic research is conducted in universities, in research institutes as well as in statistical departments and in several international agencies. Population institutions are part of the [[Cicred]] (International Committee for Coordination of Demographic Research) network while most individual scientists engaged in demographic research are members of the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population or, in the United States, the [[Population Association of America]].
