English Medical Vocabulary

While you don't need to understand the more technical, scientific, or medical language doctors and other healthcare providers use, it is helpful to know basic health-related vocabulary. This page provides some of the most common English vocabulary used to talk about health and healthcare. You'll find important categories with an example sentence to help show context for each word provided in this vocabulary overview.

Illnesses

Ache - The ache is getting worse. What should I do?

Earache - I've got a horrible ear ache today.

Headache - I woke up with a pounding headache this morning.

Stomach ache - Don't eat too much chocolate or you'll get a stomach ache.

Toothache - Go to the dentist for your toothache.

Cancer - Cancer seems to be the plague of modern life.

Cold - People sometimes work if they've only got a cold.

Cough - He has a strong cough. He should take some cough syrup.

Flu - It's common to feel aches and pains, as well as have a slight fever when you've got the flu.

Heart attack - A heart attack doesn't need to be fatal in modern times.

Heart disease - Heart disease affects a lot of families.

Infection - Make sure to clean the wound so you don't get an infection

Infectious disease - She caught an infectious disease at school.

Pain - Where do you feel the pain?

Virus - There is a virus going around at work. Take lots of vitamins.

Minor Injuries

Bruise - I have this bruise from hitting myself with a door!

Cut - Put a bandage on your cut.

Graze - That's just a graze. It's nothing serious.

Wound - That wound needs to be treated by a doctor. Go to the emergency room.

Medical Treatment

Bandage - Use this bandage to stop the bleeding.

Check-up - I have a check-up next month.

Dose (of medicine) - Make sure to take your dose of medicine at ten o'clock.

Drugs - The doctor can prescribe drugs if necessary.

Injection - Some medicine is given by injection.

Medicine - Regularly take the medicine and you should have no problems.

Operation - Ron has a serious operation on Friday.

Pain-killer - Opiates are a type of pain-killer that can be very addictive.

Pill - Take one pill before you go to bed.

Tablet - Take one tablet with each meal.

Tranquilizer - This tranquilizer will calm your nerves so you can rest.

People in Healthcare

Dentist - The dentist gave me a check-up and cleaned my teeth.

Doctor - The doctor can see you now.

General Practitioner - Most families have a general practitioner to help them with most needs.

Midwife - Many women choose to have a midwife help with the birth of their baby.

Nurse - The nurse will come in to check on you every hour.

Patient - The patient has a broken rib and nose.

Specialist - The specialist was excellent but extremely expensive.

Surgeon - Surgeons need to have nerves of steel as they cut into the flesh during an operation.

Places in Healthcare

Hospital - I'll meet you at the hospital and we can stop in to see Peter who's recovering from surgery.

Operating Room - The surgeon entered the operating​ room and began the operation

Waiting Room - You can sit in the waiting room until he's finished.

Ward - Mr. Smith is in the ward at the end of the hall.

Health-Related Verbs

Catch - Most people catch a cold from time to time.

Cure - It took the doctor six months to cure the illness.

Heal - A wound can take a long time to heal.

Hurt - The boy hurt his ankle playing basketball.

Injure - I injured myself climbing a tree!

Operate on - The surgeon will operate on the patient at three o'clock.

Prescribe - The doctor prescribed an antibiotic to help the wound heal.

Treat - We'll treat anyone who has a health issue.

Health-Related Adjectives

Fit - He's a fit young man. He shouldn't be worried.

Ill - Unfortunately, she looks ill today.

Sick - Do you feel sick?

Healthy - Eat healthy food and get regular exercise.

Unhealthy - Eating fatty foods and lots of sweets is very unhealthy.

Painful - The painful arm was held in a cast.

Unwell - Many students are feeling unwell.

Well - I hope you get well soon.

English Medical Vocabulary

Here’s some essential medical vocabulary when you need to talk about injury and illness. Plus, a section for going to the doctor and talking about your medical history.

Medical vocabulary for minor problems

Boil = infected swelling with liquid inside it: “You’ll need to go to the doctor to have that boil lanced.” (lance – puncture and clean)

Lump = swelling: “I have a strange lump on my arm. I wonder what caused it.”

Rash = allergic reaction which makes your skin go red: “When she used the soap her skin came out in a rash.”

Scab = dry skin that forms over a cut: “Don’t pick at your scab – you might make it bleed.”

Spot = red mark on the skin (much smaller than a boil): “When he was a teenager he had a lot of spots.”

Swelling = an irritation or infection that makes the skin rise: “After the wasp stung her, she had a swelling on her leg for days.”

The following words can be used as nouns and verbs:

Bruise = when the skin goes blue and yellow: “She fell down the stairs and bruised her arm.”

“He has a bruise just under his eye.”

Bump = when you hit yourself and get a slight swelling:

“Ow! I bumped my head on the desk!”

“It’s only a little bump – nothing serious.”

Cut = when something sharp breaks your skin and you bleed: “He cut himself badly on the bread knife.”

“Fortunately, nobody was seriously injured in the accident. There were only a few cuts and bruises.”

“She got a nasty cut on her hand while she was diving.”

Gash = deep cut: “He gashed his hand badly on a piece of broken glass.”

“That’s a nasty gash. You might need stitches.”

Graze = slight cut – not enough to bleed much: “When she was little, she was always grazing her knee.”

“I got a small graze on my hand when I fell onto some gravel.”

Itch = when a part of your body makes you want to scratch it: “My eyes are itching – this atmosphere is too smoky for me.”

“I’ve got a terrible itch where the mosquito bit me.”

Scratch = like a graze, but more painful: “The cat scratched me – it stings a little.”

“He was picking berries and got a couple of scratches from the thorns.”

Sprain = twist a part of your body: “She sprained her ankle when she slipped on the ice.”

“My ankle looks swollen, but it’s only a minor sprain.”

Going to the doctor

The first time you visit a new doctor, you should talk about your medical history – the illnesses you have had, any operations you have had and so on. In this section you’ll find some useful medical vocabulary to do this.

Your doctor might want to give you a check-up. A check-up will include monitoring your blood pressure, as high blood pressure is serious and can lead to life-threatening conditions. Your doctor will probably also take your pulse to check that your heart rate is normal.

A doctor uses a stethoscope to listen to your breathing – particularly if you have a heart or chest infection, or a condition such as asthma.

Of course, you can also visit the doctor for a huge range of other reasons. Children need to have their injections and if you are going abroad on holiday, you might also need to have injections against infectious diseases. In winter, you can also get a flu vaccine so that you won’t get the flu.

If you need medication, a doctor will write you a prescription. You can get your prescription filled at a chemist.

For more serious medical conditions, you can get a referral to a clinic or a hospital. You might need blood tests done, an X-ray, or to see a specialist.

See our page How to talk about illness for more medical vocabulary and speaking phrases.