· 50 lists · 1697 words
Health and the body
What is said when your own body is the subject.
What holds these lists together
These lists follow the same path at many points: the pharmacy counter, the dentist’s chair, the ambulance, the lab form, the ward. Their words are mostly built from Latin and Greek and therefore look deceptively easy. Il tutore is not a tutor but a brace or splint — and, in law, a guardian. La ricetta is the prescription the doctor writes as well as the recipe in the kitchen. What connects the lists is the moment you need them: you usually hear these words for the first time when you are the patient, and in no state to ask.
The 50 lists
C1At the pharmacyActive substance, dosage form, half-life, adherence — and what goes over the counter without a prescription.40 wordsC1At the dentistDecay, root, crown, splint — and the estimate you understand before you agree to it.40 wordsC1OphthalmologyShort-sighted, long-sighted, dioptre, retina — and who is responsible for what.40 wordsC1PhysiotherapyStrain, disc, mobility, build-up — the language of the practice and of the referral.40 wordsC1The ambulance serviceEmergency call, cardiac arrest, bleeding, positioning — and the order in which things are done.40 wordsC1Laboratory medicineBlood count, reference range, culture, report — the sheet you hold in your hand before you see the doctor.40 wordsB1At the doctor’s and the chemist’sSaying what hurts — and understanding what you are meant to do about it.34 wordsB1Emergency and safetyThe words for the day something goes wrong.32 wordsB1Falling ill and getting betterFrom the first sign to the day you are fit for work again.44 wordsB1Health and medicineDescribing what is wrong, understanding the findings, making appointments.31 wordsB2Old age and careThe words nobody learns until the day they are needed.33 wordsB2Hospital and diagnosisWhat is said in hospital, and what it means.59 wordsC1Birth and midwiferyFrom the antenatal checks to the first weeks, with the words used on the ward.40 wordsC1Veterinary medicineA history with no words, a herd instead of a person, an owner instead of a patient.40 wordsC2The immune system and infectionDefence, vaccination, outbreak — and what one figure means.39 wordsC2Psychiatry and the mental stateDescribing before interpreting — the words of the mental state examination.28 wordsC2EndocrinologyMessengers, control loops and what happens when one of them tips over.35 wordsC2Hospital hygieneThe infections that begin inside the hospital itself.34 wordsC2RadiologyWhat an image shows, what it does not show, and who decides that.35 wordsC2GeriatricsThe branch of medicine where a diagnosis almost never comes alone.21 wordsC2DermatologyThe organ you look at before you ask it anything.35 wordsC2Cosmetic chemistryWhat is in a cream, and what the law has to say about it.24 wordsC2Medicines and trialsActive substance, therapeutic window, the state of the evidence — and what a number actually says.58 wordsC2OncologyFindings, stage, treatment, course — and how all of it is spoken about.42 wordsC2GastroenterologyNine metres of tube that nearly every speciality has a stake in.36 wordsC2ToxicologyThe dose, the route in and the way out.25 wordsC2VaccinesHow an immune response is planned, tested and authorised.22 wordsC2RheumatologyJoints, vessels, connective tissue — and the timing that decides it all.34 wordsC2Transplant medicineOne organ, two people and a very narrow window of time.22 wordsC2MicrobiologyCulture, resistance, biofilm — life below the threshold of sight.42 wordsC2Respiratory medicineThe lung, measured rather than described.34 wordsC2The history of medicineHow an art turned into a discipline.25 wordsC2Ear, Nose and Throat MedicineThree organs joined by the same spaces.29 wordsC2Infectious diseasesPathogens, defences, and the question of when to give nothing.22 wordsC2AnaesthesiaThe hours in which somebody else takes over the breathing.34 wordsC2HaematologyBlood, read as a report on the whole body.29 wordsC2Critical careWhere organs are replaced and decisions cannot wait.34 wordsC2Doping controlA procedure that is closer to a court case than it is to sport.26 wordsC2Addiction medicineA field that works with terms instead of verdicts.23 wordsC2Sleep medicineA third of a life that only draws attention when it goes wrong.35 wordsC2RadiotherapyOne dose that lands on the target, and one that must not land beside it.32 wordsC2Speech and language therapySpeech, voice and swallowing treated as one field.26 wordsC2CardiologyRhythm, valves, coronary arteries — and what the trace shows.40 wordsC2Occupational therapyTreatment that starts from everyday life rather than from the findings.23 wordsC2EpidemiologyFrequency, risk, bias — and what is allowed to be called a cause.40 wordsC2UrologyA speciality that sits between internal medicine and surgery.27 wordsC2NephrologyTwo organs that work quietly until there is almost nothing left.34 wordsC2The nervous system and neurologyFrom the nerve cell to the report and on to rehabilitation.43 wordsC2Orthopaedics and trauma surgeryBones, joints, and what makes them able to carry weight again.19 wordsC2Palliative medicineWhen cure is no longer the aim — and what counts instead.37 words
Spread across the levels
The category runs across the levels — it is an area, not a difficulty. If you practise it, you can also choose a level at the top of the practice page and then get only the part that sits there.
| Level | Words | Share |
|---|---|---|
| A2 | 2 | 0 % |
| B1 | 123 | 7 % |
| B2 | 108 | 6 % |
| C1 | 320 | 19 % |
| C2 | 1144 | 67 % |
Practise this category
Multiple choice and gaps, across all 50 lists and all 1697 words. Whatever you get wrong comes back tomorrow.