The NHS stands for the National Health Service.

It refers to the Government-

funded medical and health care services that everyone living in the UK can use
without being asked to pay the full cost of the service. These services include:
• Visiting a doctor or a nurse at a doctor’s surgery
• Getting help and treatment at a hospital if you are unwell or injured
• Seeing a midwife if you are pregnant
• Getting urgent help from healthcare professionals working in the ambulance
services if you have serious or life-threatening injuries or health problems -
this might include being transported to hospital

Surgery A place where doctors or other medical

workers treat people
Community health centre A building in which a group of doctors have
offices or surgeries where their patients can
visit them
Health visitor In Britain, a health visitor is a nurse employed
by a district health authority to visit people in
their homes and give help and advice on
health and social welfare, especially to
mothers of preschool children, to elderly
people and to people with physical
disabilities.
Appointment If you have an appointment with someone,
you have arranged to see them at a particular
time, usually in connection with their work or
for a serious purpose
Outpatient An outpatient is someone who receives
treatment at a hospital but does not spend
the night there
Nursing home A nursing home is a private hospital,
especially one for old people
Clinic A clinic is a building where people go to
receive medical advice or treatment
Ward A ward is a room in a hospital which has beds
for many people, often people who need
similar treatment
Nursing staff Those who look after people who are ill
Sister (BE) A sister is a senior female nurse who
supervises part of a hospital
Midwife A midwife is a nurse who is trained to deliver
babies and to advise pregnant women
Consultant (BE) A consultant is an experienced doctor with a
Specialist (AE) high position, who specializes in one area of
medicine
Paramedic
Surgeon
Surgery
Operating theatre (BE)
Operating room (AE)
Anaesthetist (BE)
Anesthesiologist (AE)
Under anaesthetic
Drill
Filling
Bug
Ex. tummy bug: Tummy bugs can organisms such as bacteria
be caused by lots of germs,
including viruses and bacteria.
Sometimes you catch them from
food, often from other people
Lame/Lameness
Partially sighted
Short-sighted (BE)
Near-sighted (AE)
Long-sighted (BE)
Far-sighted (AE)
A paramedic is a person whose training is
similar to that of a nurse and who helps to do
medical work
A surgeon is a doctor who is specially trained
to perform surgery
Surgery is medical treatment in which
someone’s body is cut open so that a doctor
can repair, remove, or replace a diseased or
damaged part
An operating theatre is a special room in a
hospital where surgeons carry out medical
operations
An anaesthetist is a doctor who specializes in
giving anaesthetics to patients
If you are under anaesthetic, this means that
doctors have used a substance to stop you
feeling pain during an operation, either in the
whole of your body when you are
unconscious, or in a part of your body when
you are awake
A drill is a tool or machine that you use for
making holes
A filling is a small amount of metal or plastic
that a dentist puts in a hole in a tooth to
prevent further decay
A bug is an illness which is caused by small
The lame are people who are unable to walk
properly because of damage to one or both
of their legs
If you are partially sighted, you have the
ability to see to some extent, but not
completely
If you are short-sighted, you cannot see
things properly when they are far away,
because there is something wrong with your
eyes
Long-sighted people cannot see things clearly
that are close to them, and therefore need to
wear glasses
Hard of hearing Someone who is hard of hearing is not able
to hear properly
The deaf and dumb "Deaf and dumb" (or even just "dumb", when
applied to deaf people who do not speak) is
an archaic term that is considered offensive.
Wart A wart is a small lump which grows on your
skin
Constipation Constipation is a medical condition which
causes people to have difficulty getting rid of
solid waste from their body
Measles Measles is an infectious illness that gives you
a high temperature and red spots on your
skin
German measles German measles is a disease which causes
you to have a cough, a sore throat, and red
spots on your skin
Chicken pox Chicken pox is a disease which gives you a
high temperature and red spots that itch
Mumps Mumps is a disease usually caught by
children. It causes a mild fever and painful
swelling of the glands in the neck
Whooping cough Whooping cough is a serious infectious
disease which causes people to cough and
make a loud noise when they breathe in
Bruise A bruise is an injury which appears as a
purple mark on your body, although the skin
is not broken
To throb (ex. My head is If part of your body throbs, you feel a series
throbbing) of strong and usually painful beats there
Hoarse/hoarseness If your voice is hoarse or if you are hoarse,
your voice sounds rough and unclear, for
example because your throat is sore
To hiccup/hiccough When you hiccup, you make repeated sharp
sounds in your throat
Hiccup/Hiccough (ex. She’s got When you have hiccups, you make repeated
(the) hiccups) sharp sounds in your throat, often because
you have been eating or drinking too quickly
Burp When someone burps, they make a noise
because air from their stomach has been
forced up through their throat
To have a frog in one’s throat To feel the need to cough; to have a tickle in
(informal) one's throat; to have a scratchy or uneven
voice
To recuperate When you recuperate, you recover your
 health or strength after you have been ill or
injured
To be on the mend (informal) If you are on the mend after an illness or
injury, you are recovering from it
To take sb’s pulse When someone takes your pulse or feels your
pulse, they find out how quickly your heart is
beating by feeling the pulse in your wrist
To take sb’s temperature If you take someone’s temperature you use
an instrument called a thermometer to
measure the temperature of their body in
order to see if they are ill
To heal When a broken bone or other injury heals or
when something heals it, it becomes healthy
and normal again
Jab (informal) A jab is an injection of something into your
blood to prevent illness
Shot (informal) A shot of a drug is an injection of it
To inoculate against/with (= to To inoculate a person or animal means to
vaccinate against) inject a weak form of a disease into their
body as a way of protecting them against the
disease
Prescription A prescription is the piece of paper on which
your doctor writes an order for medicine and
which you give to a chemist or pharmacist to
get the medicine.
To make out a prescription for someone.
Dose/Dosage A dose or dosage is the amount of a medicine
or drug that someone takes or should take
Chemist (BE) A chemist is someone who works in a
Druggist or Pharmacist (AE) chemist’s shop and is qualified to prepare
and sell medicines
Drugstore (AE) In the United States, a drugstore is a shop
where drugs and medicines are sold or given
out, and where you can buy cosmetics, some
household goods, and also drinks and snacks
Pill Pills are small solid round masses of
medicine or vitamins that you swallow
without chewing
Tablet A tablet is a small solid round mass of
medicine which you swallow
Capsule A capsule is a very small tube containing
powered or liquid medicine, which you
swallow
Ointment An ointment is a smooth thick substance that
 is put on sore skin or a wound to help it heal
First aid First aid is simple medical treatment given as
soon as possible to a person who is injured or
who suddenly becomes ill
Bandage A bandage is a long strip of cloth which is
wrapped around a wounded part of
someone’s body to protect or support it
Plaster (BE) (ex. His leg is in A plaster is a strip of sticky material used for
plaster) covering small cuts or sores on your body
Band-Aid (AE)
Sling (ex. She’s got her arm in a A sling is a piece of cloth which supports
sling) someone’s broken or injured arm and is tied
round their neck
Crutch (ex. She has to walk on A crutch is a stick whose top fits round or
crutches) under the user’s arm, which someone with an
injured foot or leg uses to support their
weight when walking
Wheelchair (ex. He’s in a A wheelchair is a chair with wheels that you
wheelchair) use in order to move about in if you cannot
walk properly, for example because you are
disabled or sick
Dressing A dressing is a covering that is put on a
wound to protect it while it heals
The kiss of life (BE) If you give someone who has stopped
Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation breathing the kiss of life, you put your mouth
(AE) onto their mouth and breathe into their lungs
to make them start breathing again
Stretcher A stretcher is a long piece of canvas with a
pole along each side, which is used to carry
an injured or sick person
Off-colour If you say that you are feeling off-colour, you
mean that you are slightly ill
Run-down (informal) If someone is run-down, they are tired or
slightly ill
Under the weather (informal) If you say that you are under the weather,
you mean that you feel slightly ill, you are
unwell
Madman/Madwoman A madman/madwoman is a man/woman who
is insane
Lunatic Lunatics are people who are mentally ill (old-
fashioned)
General Practitioner A GP is a doctor who does not specialize in
any particular area of medicine, but who has
a medical practice in which he or she treats
 all types of illness
As blind as a bat Unable to see well
To be completely blind
As deaf as a post Completely deaf
My feet are/my back is killing me If you say that something is killing you, you
(informal) mean that it is causing you physical or
emotional pain
Prescription pad A pad of prescriptions used by doctors
Practice nurse A nurse who works in a medical practice or
surgery
Sphygmometer An instrument for measuring blood pressure
Sphygmomanometer and especially arterial blood pressure
Blood pressure gauge
Cuff An inflatable band that is wrapped around
an extremity to control the flow of blood
through the part when recording blood
pressure with a sphygmomanometer
Stethoscope A medical instrument for detecting sounds
produced in the body that are conveyed to
the ears of the listener through rubber
tubing connected with a piece placed upon
the area to be examined
Auriscope A medical instrument for examining the
external ear
Eye test chart This test measures how well you see at
various distances.
X-ray viewer A medical instrument for observation of
radiographs.
Scales An instrument for weighing
Height bar a horizontal bar adjusted above head height
Scalpel a small straight thin-bladed knife used
especially in surgery
Suppository a solid but readily meltable cone or cylinder
of usually medicated material for insertion
into a bodily passage or cavity (such as the
rectum)
Artery tourniquet A tourniquet is a strip of cloth that is
tied tightly round an injured arm or leg in
order to stop it bleeding.
Spatula (BE) a thin flat instrument that doctors use for
Tongue depressor (AE) pressing the tongue down when they are
examining somebody’s throat
Whiplash Whiplash is a neck injury caused by the head
 suddenly moving forwards and then back
again, for example in a car accident
Tweezers Any of various small metal instruments that
are usually held between the thumb and
index finger, are used for plucking, holding,
or manipulating, and consist of two legs
joined at one end
Antiseptic wipe Antiseptic Wipes are sting free and can be
used to cleanse a cut prior to administering
other applications such as an ointment or
bandage
Admission The process of taking someone into a
hospital for treatment, tests, or care
Discharged When someone is discharged from hospital,
they are officially allowed to leave, or
told that they must leave
Probe A long, thin metal tool used by doctors to
examine inside someone
Drip An apparatus which passes fluid, nutrients, or
drugs drop by drop into a patient's body on a
continuous basis, usually intravenously.
Intensive care unit An intensive care unit is a part of a hospital
where patients who are extremely ill or very
badly injured are looked after constantly. The
abbreviation ICU is often used.
Minor injuries units A Minor Injuries Unit can treat injuries that
are not critical or life-threatening
Accident and Emergency The room or department in a hospital where
department/unit o A&E people who have severe injuries or sudden
illness are taken for emergency treatment
Splint A splint is something that's used to keep a
person's arm or leg straight and immobile
while a broken bone is healing
Trolley A hospital bed on wheels for transporting
patients
Referral A referral sends someone somewhere, often
for help or advice. You'll need a referral from
your doctor in order to see a specialist
1) As mad as a hatter (informal) 1) it refers to someone being completely
crazy
2) To be off one’s rocker (slang) 2) crazy
3) To be off (BE)/out of (AE) 3) If you say that someone is off their head,
one’s head (informal) you mean that they have taken so many
drugs that they do not know what they are
 doing.
4) To have a screw loose 4) to be crazy
(informal) 5) to become insane
5) To lose one’s marbles
(informal + humorous) 6) Crazy or very strange
6) Nutty (informal) 7) insane
7) Nuts (slang; offensive) 8) a mad or foolish person
8) Nutcase 9) slightly crazy
9) Barmy
Concussion A concussion is a traumatic brain injury that
affects your brain function. Effects are usually
temporary but can include headaches and
problems with concentration, memory,
balance and coordination
Head injury A head injury is any sort of injury to your
brain, skull, or scalp