Guide to medical syntax
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
Overview
Many words that are used interchangeably in common language take on different meanings when used in the context of medicine. This guide serves to highlight words that are commonly found on WikiDoc to be used incorrectly and to provide more appropriate alternatives. Like all aspects of WikiDoc, this page should be updated as more examples are found.
Words Mistakenly Interchanged
Incidence vs. Prevalence
Both incidence and prevalence are often used to mean the same thing in common language. In medicine, however, they have two distinct meanings. The definition of each term, as well as an example of each, is provided below.
| Term | Definition | Example |
| Incidence | The rate of occurrence or influence. Especially, the rate of occurrence of new cases of a particular disease in a population being studied | New cases of Disease X are becoming less common among people over the age of 80 with an incidence of 1000 cases per year in the United States. |
| Prevalence | The percentage of a population that is affected with a particular disease at a given time | Disease X still affects a large portion of the population over the age of 80, being prevalent in 13% of the this population. |
Trial vs. Study
Use of the word trial versus study / analysis: Results of randomized observations can be referred to as a “trial”. Results of non-randomized observations should be referred to as studies or analyses.
| Term | Definition | Example |
| Study | A careful examination or analysis of a phenomenon, development, or question. | A recent study examined the association between patients taking multivitamins and cardiovascular risk. |
| Trial | A study in which the subjects are randomly distributed into groups which are either subjected to the experimental procedure (as use of a drug) or which serve as controls | In a recent trial, patients randomized to receive Drug X in addition to standard of care showed a significant decrease in recovery time for total knee replacement surgery. |
Words to Find and Replace
| Do Not Use | Do Use | Notes |
| Predictor | Associated With | The term "predictor" should only be used when there is a validation cohort and the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value are also presented. |
| Any word that implies causality, such as impacted, influenced or caused | Associated with | Often there is only data to support a correlation between two phenomena. However, correlation does not imply causation. The language we use on WikiDoc should not falsely present the research of others. |
| After | Following | |
| Given, used or received | Administered | |
| In | Among | |
| Seen | Observed | |
| Shown | Demonstrated | |
| Felt to be | Hypothesized or speculated to be | |
| Thrombolytic | Fibrinolytic | Do not use the wording, "following fibrinolysis," as fibrinolysis implies successful clot resolution. Instead, use the wording, "following fribinolytic administration." |
=General Instructions
- If English is not your first language, have a native writer review your content after it is created.
- Do not end sentences with the word "with" or adverbs
- Minimize the use a conversational tone with words ending in "ing" (passive tense)