Click here for an Alphabetical list of Medical Jargon

Medical jargon is a common challenge to both other healthcare workers and more importantly patients where it can introduce communication ambiguity. It is also a mechanism by which the profession enforces or enhances its position of power and authority. Many abbreviations used in medicine are a form of jargon and have identical issues. As a general rule medical terms should only be labelled as jargon when they impair concise and accurate communication as a major challenge is that the necessary vocabularly to work effectively in clinical medicine is much greater than that most of the population need to know unless they or someone they know develops a specific health problem. Medical jargon also varies across medical subcultures, and such variance should be referenced to this category.