Characteristics of special terms use in doctor-patient communication (based on the material of the English language)

The present article is dedicated to the question of both quality and quantity of special medical terms used in doctor-patient communication in English. An analysis made it possible to determine that a doctor can not completely avoid the use of specific medical terminology in his consultations with a patient, although in such a case misunderstanding may arise and the doctor’s credibility may be very much on the line. On the one hand, the reason for such a tendency is the doctor’s intention to consolidate his “professional weight” in the patient’s eyes. On the other hand, the doctor may overestimate the patient’s knowledge in the field of medicine. Moreover, it became evident that doctors tend to replace terms for euphemisms and descriptive phrases which contain a “prediction” of a positive prognosis. What is also worth mentioning is the patients’ frequent misuse of specific terms.