ABSTRACT
Metaphor is a common way to describe life and death as well as symptoms and health. The chapter illustrates that doctors and patients use different kinds of metaphors - and metaphors shared by both. It focuses on empirical studies to examine which metaphors come into being in the encounter between medical doctors and their patients in order to locate metaphor as part of professional culture. The chapter provides awareness of doing metaphor research that "requires scholars to be explicit about underlying mechanisms of thought and language central to metaphor theory". It also focuses on conceptual metaphors in order to explore how medical doctors apply their knowledge in practice. Drawing on the notions of jurisdiction and boundary work, the chapter discusses the use of conceptual metaphors as a reassuring signal of expertise. The chapter also discusses examples of metaphors used in medical work to strengthen attention on what engagement practitioners might be trying to evoke in the encounter with their patients.
