Medical Colloquialisms & Malapropisms

Home Health Dictionary is a medical translation resource / reference designed to assist home health and medical professionals recognize mispronounced, malaproped or colloquial medical terminology. A medical malapropism is typically created by the incorrect use of healthcare terminology by patients or the patients' family when they substitute a similar-sounding word with different meaning.

Help us grow this resource. If you or your colleagues hear of a medical colloquialism in your travels and would like to share it with others, use the form below so we can add them to the list. Thank you - Home Health Dictionary Team.

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ectercises

Translation: exercises
Sample Usage: "My doctor to me to do my ectercises every day."

electric lights

Translation: electrolytes
Sample Usage: "The doc said I felt bad because my electric lights are off." Submitted by Dr. Anonymous.

emancipated

Translation: emaciated
Sample Usage: "A patient once complained to me regarding the long wait to be seen in an ER with her husband sitting there all emancipated in his wheel chair." Submitted by Dr. Anonymous.

erotic heartbeat

Translation: erratic heartbeat
Sample Usage: "The doctors said your father has an erotic heartbeat." Submitted by Mike D.

evaleation

Translation: evaluation
Sample Usage: "I have to go to my doctor for an evaleation."