Confessions of an Undisguised Drama Queen

Thursday, February 02, 2006

Medical Lingo

As someone who has watched over 15 episodes of medical dramedy over the CNY break, I would like to say that I'm an expert at doctor's talk. The abbreviations. The jargons. The lingo.

But I am so clueless.

To help myself out for the remaining episodes, I decided to find out what those words that were thrown about in the OR (ok this i know... operating room!) actually mean:

scrub
1. a beginning doctor at a hospital.
2. the uniform, usually blue or blue-green, that doctors wear (Addison Shepherd has a salmon pink one though)
3. to scrub in: to wash the hands and forearms very thoroughly, as for surgery.

resident
a physician who has finished medical school and internship and is now receiving training in a specialized area as, for example, surgery, internal medicine, pathology or radiology.

attending
A more senior, supervising physician whose responsibilities include the care of a particular patient or special group of patients. Within teaching hospitals, the "attending" is typically a faculty member with teaching responsibilities.

whipple (aka the whipple procedure)
Also called a pancreaticoduodenectomy, which is generally the removal of the gall bladder, common bile duct, part of the duodenum, and the head of the pancreas. This operation was first described by Dr. Alan O. Whipple of New York Memorial Hospital.

Code Blue
a technical, jargon term for medical emergencies.

DNR
do not resuscitate

CT scan
computerized tomography scan. Pictures of structures within the body created by a computer that takes the data from multiple X-ray images and turns them into pictures on a screen.

MRI
magnetic resonance imaging. A radiology technique that uses magnetism, radio waves, and a computer to produce images of body structures. (I knew this one!)

CBC
complete blood count

ABG
arterial blood gas. the sampling of the blood levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide within the arteries, as opposed to the levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide in venous blood.

VQ scan
ventilation-perfusion scan. a nuclear scan that studies both airflow (ventilation) and blood flow (perfusion) in the lungs. The initials V-Q are used in mathematical equations that calculate airflow and blood flow. The purpose of this test is to look for evidence of a blood clot in the lungs, called a pulmonary embolus, that lowers oxygen levels, causes shortness of breath, and sometimes is fatal.

PE
pulmonary embolism

aneurysm
an abnormal blood-filled dilatation of a blood vessel and especially an artery resulting from disease of the vessel wall.

That will be all for today. *phew*

[Time of Confession] 10:47 PM
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