How to Get Started in Medical Translation?

In this era of rising artificial intelligence, the translation industry has faced unprecedented challenges. Many translators experience a shortage of projects. However, one field within translation is always in demand: medical translation. ?

As a vital part of modern society, the medical field has strict professional requirements that limit the use of machine translation. However, its broad scope and high standards make it difficult for some translators to enter. While there is much information online about how to get started in medical translation, it is often scattered. Today, we will share some common medical translation terms and their explanations!

Medical Equipment Terminology

1. Surgical Instruments

- Scalpel: A tool used for cutting during surgery, usually made of stainless steel, with a sharp blade. ?

- Forceps: A tool for gripping, lifting, or transferring tissues, blood vessels, or other surgical materials, available in various shapes and sizes to meet different surgical needs. ?

- Ligasure Vascular Closure System: An advanced surgical tool used to close blood vessels during surgery, reducing bleeding and surgery time. ?

- Laparoscopy: A small surgical scalpel used specifically for laparoscopic surgery, which is performed through small incisions in the abdomen. It has the advantages of minimal trauma and fast recovery. ?

- Bipolar Coagulating Forceps: A device that uses high-frequency electrical currents between bipolar electrodes to coagulate and stop bleeding in tissues, often used in minimally invasive surgery.

2. Diagnostic and Therapeutic Equipment ?

- Multi-parameter Monitor: A medical device that monitors and displays multiple physiological parameters of a patient simultaneously, such as ECG, blood pressure, and oxygen saturation. ?

- Respirator: A device used to assist or control a patient's breathing, commonly found in intensive care units and emergencies. ?

- Hemodialysis Machine: A device used for blood purification treatment in patients with kidney failure, where the patient's blood is drawn out, filtered, and detoxified before being returned to the body. ?

- Endoscope: A long, optical instrument used to examine or treat areas inside the body through natural cavities or surgical incisions, such as gastroscopy and colonoscopy. ?

- High-Frequency Electrotome: A surgical instrument that uses high-frequency electrical currents to cut tissue and coagulate blood, widely used in surgical procedures.

3. Other Medical Devices ?

- Blood Sugar Analyzer ?

- Urine Analyzer ?

- Bio-safety Cabinet ?

- Sterilization and Disinfection Equipment

Medical terminology

1. Drug Classification and Naming

-Generic Name: The generic name of a drug refers to the China Approved Drug Name (CADN), which is the official name of the drug. It represents the universal name for drugs with the same active ingredients or formulation within China. The generic name has global applicability and is generally consistent across different countries.

-Trade Name/Proprietary Name: The trade name is determined by the drug manufacturer and is the product name approved by the drug regulatory authorities. It has proprietary characteristics and cannot be imitated. Trade names are usually used for market promotion and brand building.

-Chemical Name: The chemical name is determined based on the chemical composition of the drug and describes the chemical structural features of the drug. Chemical names are highly professional and precise, often used in scientific research and academic communication.

-Antibiotics: Examples include Penicillin, Cephalosporins, Azithromycin, etc.

-Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs): Examples include Aspirin, Ibuprofen, Indomethacin, etc.

-Central Nervous System Drugs: Examples include Sedative-hypnotics (such as Diazepam), Antiepileptic drugs (such as Carbamazepine), Antidepressants (such as Fluoxetine), etc.

-Antineoplastic Drugs: Examples include Paclitaxel, Cisplatin, Doxorubicin, etc.

2. Drug Dosage and Administration

-Dosage: The amount or concentration of a drug used, usually expressed as the amount per unit body weight or a given surface area.

-Starting Dose/Initial Dose: The dose of the drug administered when treatment begins.

-Recommended Dose/Suggested Dose: The drug dose recommended for most patients, based on clinical studies and drug instructions.

-Maximum Dose: The upper limit of safe drug use; exceeding this dose may increase the risk of side effects.

-Maintenance Dose: The dose administered continuously after the patient's condition has stabilized to maintain therapeutic effects.

-Divided Dose: The total dose is split into several administrations to enhance efficacy and safety.

-Route of Administration: The method by which a drug enters the body, including oral, injection, inhalation, etc.

-Administration Time: The specific time or interval when the drug is given.

-Administration/Direction for Use/Method of Administration: The specific way the drug is used, including the route of administration, dosage, and administration time.

-Average Dose: The average drug dose used by a patient over a certain time.

-Minimal/Minimum Dose: The smallest dose needed to produce a therapeutic effect.

-Overdose: Drug use that exceeds the normal or recommended dose.

3. Drug Actions and Mechanisms

-Drug Action: The initial interaction between a drug and tissue cells.

-Pharmacological Effect: The changes in the original functions of tissue cells following drug action, representing the result of the drug's action and the body's response.

-Excitation: Any action that enhances the body's existing physiological and biochemical functions.

-Inhibition: Any action that weakens the body's existing physiological and biochemical functions.

-Specificity: Most drugs produce pharmacological effects through chemical reactions.

-Selectivity: Drugs that have significant effects on certain tissues or organs, while having little or no effect on other tissues.

-Receptor: Large molecular substances located on the cell membrane, within the cytoplasm, or in the nucleus, capable of recognizing and binding specific ligands (such as drugs, neurotransmitters, hormones, etc.) to produce a biological amplification effect.

-Agonist: A drug that has both affinity and intrinsic activity, capable of binding to and activating a receptor to produce an effect.

-Antagonist: A drug that has strong affinity but lacks intrinsic activity, which binds to a receptor without activating it to produce an effect.

-Competitive Antagonist: A drug that reversibly competes with agonists for the same receptor, antagonizing the effect of the agonist.

-Non-competitive Antagonist: A drug that binds very firmly and irreversibly to a receptor, causing the dose-response curve to shift to the right and become flattened, thereby decreasing efficacy.

-Pharmacokinetics: The study of the kinetic laws of drug concentration changes within the body over time, including processes of absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion.Drug Action: The initial interaction between a drug and tissue cells.