Abstract

The department of Ancient Languages in co-operation with the department of Anatomy embarked in the late nineties on a course in Medical Terminology for students of the Veterinary and Health Sciences. Before long, students from Biological and Agricultural Sciences, Dentistry, Nursing Sciences, Biokinetics, Dietetics, Occupational Therapy and Radiography also adopted the course in their curriculum at the University of Pretoria. To keep apace of medical science and to communicate an international medical language effectively, medical language has become a common currency not only of those in medical professions but also of lawyers, equipment suppliers, pharmaceutical representatives and others who interact with health care providers and consumers" At the University of Pretoria the course in Medical Terminology proved to be 100% outcomes based and developed an interdisciplinary agenda between Ancient Languages and Anatomy.  Instead of learning 15 000 words like a parrot, the medical student now follows a course in which they learn the basic Greek and Latin combining forms, prefixes and suffixes.  In this way they develop an appreciation for the language of medicine and are less dependent on medical dictionaries.

Presentation

Mrs Corrie Schumann

Head,Academia Latina

Department of Ancient Languages

Faculty of Humanities

University of Pretoria,

Classical Association of South Africa (CASA)

South Africa