Medicine & Health Vocabulary

Prognosis

/prɒɡˈnəʊsɪs/

The likely course and outcome of a disease, including probability of recovery, recurrence, or death.

Placebo

/pləˈsiːbəʊ/

An inert treatment given to the control group in a clinical trial, identical in appearance to the active treatment.

Adverse Effect

/ˈædvɜːs ɪˈfekt/

An unintended, harmful outcome caused by a medical intervention.

Aetiology

/ˌiːtiˈɒlədʒi/

The cause or set of causes of a disease or condition.

Pathogenesis

/ˌpæθəˈdʒenɪsɪs/

The biological mechanism by which a disease develops and progresses.

Incidence

/ˈɪnsɪd(ə)ns/

The rate of new cases of a disease occurring in a population over a specified period.

Prevalence

/ˈprev(ə)l(ə)ns/

The proportion of a population with a particular disease or condition at a specific point in time.

Comorbidity

/kəʊmɔːˈbɪdɪti/

The simultaneous presence of two or more chronic diseases or conditions in a patient.

Efficacy

/ˈefɪkəsi/

The ability of an intervention to produce a beneficial effect under ideal, controlled conditions (e.g., in a clinical trial).

Sensitivity

/ˌsensɪˈtɪvɪti/

The ability of a diagnostic test to correctly identify those with the disease (true positive rate).

Specificity

/ˌspesɪˈfɪsɪti/

The ability of a diagnostic test to correctly identify those without the disease (true negative rate).

Contraindication

/ˌkɒntrəˌɪndɪˈkeɪʃ(ə)n/

A specific situation or condition in which a particular treatment or procedure should not be used because it may be harmful.

Biomarker

/ˈbaɪəʊˌmɑːkə/

A measurable biological characteristic used to indicate a normal or pathological process, or a response to treatment.

Meta-Analysis

/ˌmetəəˈnælɪsɪs/

A statistical method that combines results from multiple independent studies to estimate an overall effect.

Intention-to-Treat Analysis

/ɪnˈtenʃ(ə)n tuː triːt/

An analytic approach that analyses all randomised participants according to their assigned group, regardless of whether they received the intended treatment.