Ancient Greek terminology in pediatric surgery: about the word meaning

Abstract

It is widely accepted that the medical terminology has its roots in ancient Greek and Latin. Greek words have been used not only in the field of medicine but also in every day language for many centuries. The aim of this article is to provide an abbreviated guide to the etymology and the meaning of Greek words used in the medical literature today, emphasizing on the field of pediatric surgery. Thus, the term paediatric is constructed from the words paedion, meaning “child”, and iatriki, meaning “medicine”, literally, “medicine for children.” Surgery, however, is not a Greek word. The corresponding Greek term is chirourgiki, derived from cheir and ergon, that is, “hand and action,” meaning the action made by hands. This term is also found in the French and German medical literature as chirourgie and chirurgie, respectively. Some general terms in surgery are also of Greek origin. The word trauma has been transferred into the English literature without modification and comes from the verb diatitreno, meaning to “penetrate.” Other such terms include diagnosis, from the verb diagignosko, meaning to “discriminate”; symptom, from the verb sympipto, that is, “to coinside”; and the adjectives clinical and clinic, from the noun klini, meaning “bed.” Focusing on special fields of pediatric surgery, the etymology and the meaning of Greek words used in the medical literature will be shown and analyzed.