Vocabulary

Lesson 1

1. Appointment = A meeting with the doctor.

2. Abnormal = Not normal for the human body.
3. Ache* = Pain
Example: headache, earache;
4. Allergy noun = a body's abnormal reaction to certain foods or environmental
substances (e.g. causes a rash)
Allergic adjective
5. Ambulance = emergency vehicle that rushes people to a hospital
6. Amnesia = a condition that causes people to lose their memory
7. Amputation noun = permanent removal of a limb
Amputate verb
8. Anaemia noun = a condition in which there is a deficiency of red cells or of
haemoglobin in the blood, resulting in pallor and weariness.
Anaemic adjective
9. Arthritis = a disease that causes the joints to become swollen and crippled
10. Blood count = the amount of red and white blood cells a person has
11. Blood donor = a person who gives blood to a blood bank or other person
12. Brace = a device that holds injured body parts in place
13. Broken = a bone that is divided in two or more pieces as a result of an injury
14. Bruise noun = injured body tissue that is visible underneath the skin
Bruised adjective
15. Caesarean section, C-section = procedure that involves removing a baby from its
mother through an incision in the woman's lower abdomen
16. Diagnosis = The identification of an illness.
17. Prescription = An official document or paper with the name of a medicine.
Also, when you take too much of a medicine it is called overdose.
18. Pulse = The regular movement of blood in your body.
19. Virus = A tiny living that makes you ill.
20. Symptom = A sign that you are ill.
21. Massage = a pressure on the body to reduce pain.
22. Stroke = the sudden death of brain cells due to lack of oxygen, caused by blockage
of blood flow or rupture of an artery to the brain. Sudden loss of speech, weakness, or
paralysis of one side of the body can be symptoms.
23. Dizzy = A feeling that you might fall.
24. Vertigo = the feeling of a sense that your environment is spinning. It is a form of
dizziness.
25. Swollen past p. = (especially of a part of the body) become larger or rounder in size,
typically as a result of an accumulation of fluid.
Swell infinitive
 ACHE, PAIN and HURT
Explanation

An ache is discomfort that continues for some time. It is usually associated with a
specific part of the body, such as a headache, a stomach-ache, a toothache, an
earache.
After you exercise, the next day your muscles will probably ache. An ache is usually
not extremely strong, so you can try to ignore it.

Pain is usually stronger, more sudden, and more difficult to ignore. You would feel
pain when you cut yourself or hit your head on something. If you exercise and you
injure yourself – break a bone or tear a muscle – you would feel a sudden pain.

 We also have the expression “aches and pains,” which describes general
and various physical discomforts. Your 90-year-old grandfather might
complain about all the “aches and pains” he has at his age!

Hurt is a little different because it is usually used as an adjective or verb, not a

noun. To describe an ache or a pain, you could say:

 My ankle hurts. = I have a pain/ache in my ankle.

 My neck hurts. = I have a pain/ache in my neck.
 My shoulders hurt. = I have a pain/ache in my shoulders.

Hurt is also used to mean “injure”:

 Don’t play with that knife – you could hurt yourself.
 He was badly hurt in the car accident.

Finally, all three of these words can be used to refer to emotional pain as well as
physical pain:
 My son is suddenly very ill; the situation is causing me a lot of heartache.
(heartache = emotional anguish)
 It took her years to move past the pain of her divorce.
(pain = emotional injury/discomfort)
 I was extremely hurt that he didn’t invite me to his wedding.
(hurt = upset, sad)