Vocabulary and Speech Exercises

I. Read the following transcriptions. Write them in words and give their Ukrainian equivalents.

[dI'stINgwIS], [aI'dentIfaI], [dI'zJz], [dI'sLdq], ['kLnqstqVn], ['meZq], [kqm'pJtIN "daIqg'nqVsIs], [pAls], ['steTqskqVp], ['vaIt(q)l kq'pxsqtI], ["njVqrq'lGIkql 'test], ['rJfleks], [sen'seIS(q)n], [mAsl], [sq'laIvq], [I"lektrqV'kRdIqgrxm], ['haIdrqGqn 'breT 'test], ['baIPpsI], ['GE:m 'TIqrI], [kL'zxlqtI], [In'kwaIqrI], [haI'pPTqsIs], [kqm'pleksqtI], ['PbvIqs], ['feIljq].

II. Say whether the following statements are true or false. Correct the false statements to make them true.

1. Medical diagnosis refers to the process of attempting to prevent, treat and cure any illness, disease or disorder.

2. The four cornerstones of diagnostic medicine are: anatomy, physiology, pathology and psychology.

3. Physicians usually begin the diagnostic process by administering various drugs, recommending bed regimen and advising a change of diet.

4. Medical tests commonly performed are: measuring blood pressure; checking the pulse rate; auscultation; percussion; neurological tests; urine, fecal, and blood tests; electrocardiogram; hydrogen breath test; etc.

5. Diagnosis and etiology are often used antonymously, especially since germ theory put an end to linking causative agents with disease.

6. There are only two techniques to obtain a correct diagnosis: exhaustive and algorithmic methods.

7. The advanced clinician always uses a single technique to obtain a diagnosis: either the pattern-recognition or hypothetico-deductive approach.

8. If a diagnosis is made by elimination of other reasonable possibilities, it is referred to as the diagnosis of exclusion.

9. A failure to respond to treatments that would normally work may indicate a need for dose increase and change of antibiotics.

III. Read the definitions of some types of diagnoses. Comment on the following terminology.

Clinical diagnosis – a diagnosis made on the basis of medical signs and patient-reported symptoms, rather than diagnostic tests.

Laboratory diagnosis – a diagnosis based significantly on laboratory reports or test results, rather than the physical examination of the patient.

Principal diagnosis – the single medical diagnosis that is most relevant to the patient’s chief complaint or need for treatment. Many patients have additional diagnoses.

Admitting diagnosis – the diagnosis given as the reason why the patient was admitted to the hospital; it may differ from the actual problem or from the discharge diagnoses.

Dual diagnosis – the diagnosis of two related, but separate, medical conditions or co-morbidities; the term almost always refers to a diagnosis of a serious mental illness and a substance addiction.

Self-diagnosis – the diagnosis or identification of a medical conditions in oneself. It is very common and typically accurate for everyday conditions, such as headaches, menstrual cramps, and headlice.

Remote diagnosis – a type of telemedicine that diagnosis a patient without being physically in the same room as the patient.

Nursing diagnosis – rather than focusing on biological processes, a nursing diagnosis identifies people’s responses to situations in their lives, such as a readiness to change or a willingness to accept assistance.

Overdiagnosis is the diagnosis of “disease” that will never cause symptoms or death during a patient’s lifetime. It is a problem because it turns people into patients unnecessarily and because it can lead to economic waste and treatments that may cause harm. Overdiagnosis occurs when a disease is diagnosed correctly, but the diagnosis is irrelevant. A correct diagnosis may be irrelevant because treatment for the disease is not available, not needed, or not wanted.

Wastebasket diagnosis – a vague, or even completely fake, medical or psychiatric label given to the patient for essentially non-medical reasons. This term is also used as a derogatory label for disputed, poorly described, overused, or questionably classified diagnoses, such as senility.

Retrospective diagnosis – the labeling of an illness in a historical figure using modern knowledge, methods and disease classifications.