Medical Spanish Vocabulary

Medical Spanish / Español médico

We sincerely hope that you will not have to use any of this vocabulary while you are attending one of our Spanish courses, but nothing is more important than knowing some words which can help you if you need medical assistance or if you need to see a doctor in Spain. It may not even be you who needs assistance: if you have a friend on your course who falls unconscious after hitting their head, or who is in pain but does not know the words to describe their symptoms to a doctor, then you may be able to explain to them what the problem is in order to ensure that your friend gets the help that they need.

Of course, if you are involved in the medical profession yourself then these words are going to be of the utmost importance to you, as you need to learn them not just for safety reasons but in fact for your own job, particularly if you are planning to use Spanish in your work after you have been through one of our courses. It may well be that you practice medicine in Spain, or that you see Spanish speaking patients in your own country; either way, you need to be able to speak with confidence and to put their minds at ease by using the right words at the right time. Learning the simple and basic vocabulary is very helpful too – there is no need to overcomplicate things, as often those who are in a hospital environment just want to know what is going on in the quickest and clearest possible terms!

Here you have the terms most commonly used by patients and doctors which we have put together into an easy to read list for you to use. As you can see, many of them are very similar to those used in English, so you should be able to learn them quite easily and with little worry. No need to worry if you have to ask for advice from a doctor or pharmacist; with just some of these words they will understand you quite easily. If you need help with referring to the specific parts of the body that are injured or which do not feel well, then you can also refer to our list of body parts on another page to combine them with this one for the most use!