Medical Terminology Essay

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An anthropological perspective to medicine is necessary in this day and age because our world is becoming metaphorically smaller due to globalization. Therefore, it would be advantageous to all people if we created a more globally integrated approach to medicine. By asking the right questions, such as how does medical terminology vary across cultures; in what ways do cultures differ in how they treat illnesses; and what illnesses are globally recognized, etc. will help us integrate culture within a medical framework. Semantics of Medical Terminology: In order to understand medical terminology it is essential to know the meaning behind certain words that are used to describe sickness and how those terms have different connotations in each culture. Understanding the semantics of medical terminology can not only help the clinician treat the patient, but it sheds light on the different components that each word represents within a global perspective. Some words that have been interpreted and adjusted to fit social constructions include disease, illness, health, and sickness. According to Almeida (2001) “disease is the alteration or dysfunction in …show more content…

This phenomenon is relatively new to the world and has only rapidly increased within the last century or so, therefore, people are still kind of getting use to the idea. Globalization is also highly controversial because there are a lot of negative and positive impacts that have resulted from some of the policies created within global organizations. While some people are pro-globalization, others are definitely against certain globalization policies and movements. Some controversial components of globalization include neoliberalism, privatization, free-trade policies, etc., which have strengthened capitalism, but have hurt lower-economic countries in multiple

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