Proper Medical Terms for Very Ordinary Things Quiz

Answer: freckles

Freckles are small brown spots on the skin caused by a concentration of a pigment called pheomelanin, a type of melanin that is reddish-yellow in color. They are caused by sun exposure but are quite harmless.

The English word freckle is derived from the Old Norse "frecknur". The correct medical terms are the Greek words "ephilis" (freckle/singular) or "ephelides" (freckles/plural).

Answer: wrinkles

A wrinkle is a crease in the skin. Wrinkles usually appear as people age because the connective tissues in the skin gradually become less stretchy as the skin produces less oil, collagen and elastin over time. There are a number of factors that can cause or exacerbate wrinkles - sun damage, loss of moisture, smoking, genetics and making repetitive facial expressions (like frowning or smiling) over a long period of time.

The medical terminology is derived from the Greek "rhytis" (wrinkle); rhytid is the singular, rhytids is the plural. A rhytidectomy is the name given to the reduction of facial wrinkles by plastic surgery; i.e. a face-lift.

Answer: pins and needles

Pins and needles, or paraesthesia, usually occurs when the nerves are squashed and the blood supply is cut off to a body part for a period of time. When the pressure is released and the blood flow returns, the nerves start working again, causing the tingling sensation. It can also occur when a nerve is traumatised, such as happens when you bang your elbow and knock the ulnar nerve (a sensation commonly known as hitting your funny bone).

In medical terminology the word paraesthesia can be broken down into the Greek prefix "par- (or) para-" (abnormal or disordered) and "aisthesis" (perception or feeling). Thus, it means abnormal sensation. Paraesthesia is the English language spelling and paresthesia is the American variant (with deletion of the silent 'a').

Answer: dimple

A dimple is defined as a small, natural hollow area or crease in a soft part of the human body, the most noticeable being the one formed in the cheek when smiling. A dimple can be a permanent or temporary feature and occurs as a result of muscular movement. Dimples are often genetically determined.

Fovea is the Latin word for "a small pit" and is used in anatomy to designate a small depression in various structures throughout the body. While fovea is the correct medical term for a dimple, the term is not limited to dimples; that is, there are other foveae throughout the body that are not dimples (such as in the eye, and at the top of the femur). In order to clarify where a fovea/dimple occurs on the body, additional words are included in the name; for example, a dimple that occurs in the cheek is called fovea buccalis, buccalis being Latin for "of the cheek".

Fovea is singular; foveae is plural.

Answer: yawning

Yawning is an involuntary or reflex action involving the deep intake of air through a wide open mouth, which stretches the throat muscles. It is usually triggered by fatigue, boredom or stress.

Oscitation is the medical term for the act of yawning and is derived from the Latin "oscitare" (to gape or yawn), which in turn is derived from "os" (mouth) and "citare" (to move or stir). So oscitation literally means "moving the mouth".

Another medical term with a similar meaning is pandiculation, which refers to the act of both yawning and stretching of the limbs, as occurs upon awakening from sleep; from the Latin "pandiculari" (to stretch oneself).

Answer: goosebumps

Goosebumps or gooseflesh are tiny bumps that appear on the skin usually in response to feeling cold, or feeling strong emotions like excitement, fear or amazement. They are a reflex or involuntary reaction of the sympathetic nervous system which causes tiny muscles under the skin, called arrector pili muscles, to tighten, which in turn causes the hair follicles to rise up to trap heat.

This is known as horripilation or piloerection. These words are derived from the Latin "horrere" (to bristle), "pilus" (hair), and "erectus" (upright).

Answer: nosebleed

Common terminology for bleeding from the nose is a nosebleed or a "blood nose". The medical term is epistaxis, derived from the Greek "epi-" (upon) and "stazein" (to let fall, drop by drop). Epistaxis is the singular, epistaxes is the plural.

Answer: burping

Eructation means to belch or burp, i.e. to release gas from the stomach or oesophagus via the mouth. It comes from the Latin "eructare", meaning to belch or vomit. Burping is usually caused by eating too fast, talking while eating, chewing gum, drinking fizzy drinks or being very active right after eating.

Answer: hiccup

Hiccups are involuntary spasms of the diaphragm - the muscle responsible for breathing. Hiccups have diverse causes, such as eating or drinking too quickly, carbonated drinks, hot or spicy foods, pregnancy or sudden stress. Typically, however, the cause is unknown. There are many "old wives' tales" in terms of strategies to relieve hiccups but they usually resolve on their own.

The word hiccup is onomatopoeic (i.e. the name sounds like the noise it describes). The medical term for hiccups is singultus. Singultus is Latin for "hiccup" and is related to the Latin adjective 'singuli' meaning "one at a time", which is how hiccups occur.

Answer: hangover

The after-effects of excessive alcohol consumption are, typically, a severe headache and may also include depression, thirst, nausea, fatigue and irritability. The medical terminology for this phenomenon is veisalgia, although it must be said that it is a word that is rarely used and can't even be found in most medical dictionaries. It is what is known as a "hybrid" medical term, combining word parts from different languages. In this case, veisalgia is derived from Norwegian word kveis (hangover, or "uneasiness following debauchery") and the Greek algia (pain).

Related words with a similar meaning are crapulence, crapulent or crapulous (from the Latin "crapula", meaning excessive drinking). While they usually refer to drinking, they also refer to an overindulgence of food, so feeling crapulent is not confined to a hangover.