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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S

sanotic nerve

Translation: sciatic nerve Also see psychiatic nerve
Sample Usage: "My doctor told me that my back pain was from a flare of my sanotic nerve." Submitted by Dr. Anonymous.

scretchen

Translation: stretching Also see scretches.
Sample Usage: "I can't do my scretchen cuz my leeders are all stove up."

scretches

Translation: stretches Also see scretchen.
Sample Usage: "I can't do my scretches cuz my leeders are all stove up."

scroke

Translation: stroke
Sample Usage: "My momma had a scroke and now she can't use her left side to do nothin." Submitted by Dr. Anonymous.

shark pain

Translation: sharp pain
Sample Usage: "I bent over and got a shark pain in my back" Submitted by Dr. Anonymous.

sick as hell anemia

Translation: sickle cell anemia
Sample Usage: "My doctor told me that sick as hell anemia runs in my family." Submitted by Dr. Anonymous.

smiling mighty Jesus - or - smilin' mighty Jesus

Translation: spinal meningitis
Sample Usage: "My grandson has got the smilin' mighty Jesus."

stove up

Translation: tight
Sample Usage: "I can't do my stretchin' cuz my leeders are all stove up."