Medico Legal Terminologies

Definition: Just like English words Medical Legal terminologies are

the words used to communicate between two doctors, or two lawyers
or a lawyer and a medical officer etc.
This type of words improves the understanding of the case and are
used to accurately describe the condition of the patient and the
treatment that he needs to undergo.
Medico legal help the lawyers to understand and communicate to the
Judge the exact situation of the case just by understanding one word.
Proper Education of these Terminologies helps many professional
(especially Lawyers in our case) in the following ways:

1. Standardized communication: Standard terms helps Lawyers

understand patient’s condition and issue and helps them
decipher complex information that makes their understanding
over case more accurate. Basically, it helps them answer the
following questions:

 Why is the patient in the hospital?

 What needs to be done to help the patient?

 2. Easy documentation and communication – Medico Legal terms
uses abbreviations and terms that can be longer when translated
or described in plain English. During the study of a case we
Lawyers are required to make a lot of documentations and since
medical terms are standard, those abbreviations will still be
understandable by the Judges or any Medical Practitioner.

3. Avoid errors – Not only for Lawyers but even for a Medical
Professional, Medical terms helps describe the medical history
of a patient through medical records and these records tells
other healthcare professional’s details that can help them
diagnose the patient more accurately and provide the right
treatments.

Example: A doctor that learns that a patient is under certain

medications or has been through certain medical procedures
before, he would have a good idea on things like if there are
medicine that should not be used.

There are some medical terms which are easily understandable just
by their meaning and don’t require a Medical practitioner to
interpret them.

Thus, below are some Medico Legal Terms which can be used by a
Lawyer during court proceedings to describe his case:
 Medico-Legal terms

A
1) Addiction - A physiological and psychological compulsion for a
habit-forming substance. In extreme cases, an addiction may
become an overwhelming obsession.

2) Abortion - The deliberate termination of a human pregnancy,

most often performed during the first 28 weeks of pregnancy.

3) Anaesthesia Injury - An injury sustained from incorrectly

administered anaesthetics.

4) Antidepressants - A type of drug used to control or reduce

depression. Some antidepressants have been found to have
serious side effects.

5) Asbestos - A fibrous silicate mineral that was once commonly

used in construction. People who have been exposed to
asbestos over a period of time may develop asbestosis,
mesothelioma, and lung cancer.

6) Autopsy - Medical Examination of a Deceased Body by a

Pathologists.
7) Alcohol - A colourless sour liquid consumed for pleasure which
results in intoxication.

8) Body Mass Index - an approximate measure of whether

someone is over- or underweight, calculated by dividing their
weight in kilograms by the square of their height in metres.

9) Causality - A person killed or injured in a war or accident or A

person or thing badly affected by an event or situation.

10) Cancer: A disease manifested by the presence of a malignant

tumour. This tumour must be characterized by the uncontrolled
growth and spread of malignant cells, the invasion of tissue, or
leukaemia.

11) CT scan - An X-ray image made using a form of tomography in

which a computer controls the motion of the X-ray source and
detectors, processes the data, and produces the image.
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12) Death - The permanent cessation of all vital bodily functions.

13) Deceased - A Dead Person.

14) Delivery - The process of giving birth to a child

15) Evidence - A fact presented in court through the testimony of

a witness, an object or written documents.

G
16)Gait - How an individual walks. Normal gait requires the proper
functioning of the nervous system and the musculoskeletal
system.

H
17) Haemorrhage - Haemorrhage is the medical term for bleeding.
It most often refers to excessive bleeding.

18) Hanging - The suspension of a person voluntarily or by someone

in order to choke the windpipe resulting in death.

19) Homosexual - Sexually attracted to people of one's own sex.

20) Impotence - A common problem among men characterized by

the consistent inability to sustain an erection sufficient for sexual
intercourse or the inability to achieve ejaculation, or both.

21) Illness Period - For insurance purposes, this normally begins

when covered expenses are incurred.

22) Intercourse - A Sexual activity between a Male and Female.

23) Infant - a very young child or baby.

24) Illegitimate Child - A child born out of parents who are not
married.

25) Intoxicated – A state of being influenced by a psychoactive

substance especially ‘Alcohol’.

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26) Locum Tenens - A healthcare provider who is serving as a
temporary relief or substitute.

27) Legitimate Child – A child born after the marriage of the

parents.

M
28) Medical negligence - The failure of a medical professional to
conform to standards of conduct for their job duties, based on
how a reasonable perso n with the required knowledge and skills
would act in the same situation.

29) Medical Malpractice - Medical malpractice is a legal cause of

action that occurs when a medical or health care professional
deviates from standards in his or her profession, thereby causing
injury to a patient.

30) Misdiagnosis - A failure by a health care professional to

correctly identify and diagnose a patient’s medical condition.

31) Medical Lien - The right of a hospital, doctor or health

insurance company to assert an interest in a personal injury
recover to the extent of the cost of the treatment or service
provided.

32) Minor - A person under the age of full legal responsibility

 (Below 18Years).

33) Negligence - An act or omission by a health care professional

that causes an unacceptable level of treatment based on
accepted practice standards within the medical community,
leading to injury or death to the patient.

34) Narcotic Drugs - A drug (such as opium or morphine) that in

moderate doses dulls the senses, relieves pain, and induces
profound sleep but in excessive doses causes stupor, coma, or
convulsions.

35) Prescription error - A variety of malpractice where a patient is

harmed by medication, which may include being given the wrong
medication, being provided the wrong dosage or being given
medication at the wrong time.

36) Pregnancy - The state of carrying a developing embryo or

foetus within the female body.
37) Pre-mortem - existing or taking place immediately before death.

38) Post mortem - an examination of a dead body to determine

the cause of death.

39) Pathologists - A scientist who studies the causes and effects of

diseases, especially one who examines laboratory samples of
body tissue for diagnostic or forensic purposes.

40) Paternity - The state of being someone's father.

41) Unchaste - Relating to or engaging in sexual activity, especially

of an illicit or extramarital nature.

42) Virginity - the state of never having had sexual intercourse.

43) Viagra - Medicine intended to treat sexual impotence in men

(erectile dysfunction).

S
44) Seizures - A person having a seizure may abruptly “freeze,” fall
and shake violently or simply fall down. Seizures affect about half
of all people with cerebral palsy but are usually not harmful.

45) Sterility - The condition of not being able to produce a young or

an Offspring due to low sperm count or any other medical
reasons.

46) Stroke - A medical condition in which poor blood flow to the

brain results in cell death. There are two main types of stroke:
ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and haemorrhagic, due to
bleeding.

47) Standard of care - The prevailing professional standard of care

for a given health care provider shall be that level of care, skill,
and treatment which, in light of all relevant surrounding
circumstances, is recognized as acceptable and appropriate by
reasonably prudent similar health care providers.

48) Strangulation - The condition in which circulation of blood to a

part of the body (especially a hernia) is cut off by constriction.

49) Surrogacy - The process of giving birth as a surrogate mother

or of arranging such a birth.
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50) Test Tube Baby – A baby conceived by in vitro fertilization.

51) Wrongful Death - A death that occurs because of someone

else’s malice, negligence, or recklessness.

Conclusion
 Thus, the above words can be used by a Lawyer in Court
proceedings to conduct his case in a proper judicial way.

 The terms mentioned above are similar with its Medical terms
and are also by Medical practitioners in their fields.

 Using these terms in court proceedings also helps the lawyer to

explain his case in a Nutshell.

 Mentioning such terms in the draft of the case would also place
an good impression about the intellect of the lawyer to the
Judge.

 Also, during the Cross examination of a Medical practitioner,

knowledge of such terms would save the Lawyer from
embarrassment upon not knowing the words and also would
make the cross-examination more accurate and fruitful.

The end…….
 Medical
Jurisprudence
Assignment

By - B.Mohit Narayan.
Class - NLC IV.
Roll NO - 30.

M.P. Law College, Aurangabad