How do medical students and scientists memorize such fancy, Latin- and Greek-derived terms?

Question

And other really long terms of the English language?

Do they just use abbreviations and look the rest of the word up or what?

Answer 1

It's not hard to learn other languages. Americans are relatively unusual as a European-derived culture in that they do not generally learn other languages.

Also, once you know the root words, it becomes rather easy to recognize them in more complex structures, and thus break that structure down in your head to see what it means based on those roots.

Answer 2

I'm not a fan of the use of latin in science either. It's use is starting to die down however in alot of areas, and more common sense names are being used.

Some words are repeated. So once you can remember one-the rest is easy. Take Pseudo- which means false. First time I encountered it, I was lost. Now I've got into the pathetic habit of using it my self. It sounds impressive... and hides the fact that I'm talking balls. It's ashame such jargon is needed. If it were up to me, I'd remove it from existance.

Answer 3

They are driven by the realization that if they don't they will flunk out.

Another factor is that they were smart enough to get into med school in the first place.

One trick that they use is to memorize mnemonics like "Two Zebras Bit My Cookies" to remember the facial nerve branches (Trigeminal, Zygomatic, Buccal, Mandibular, and Cervical)

Answer 4

You see some terms so frequently, that you suck them up into your language. Sometimes a term begins to make so much sense, that it becomes the way you think and no longer takes translation.

Answer 5

well when i had to remember stuff like that i used a whole lot of word associations! some really funny and weird things that i was sure to remember.