ABSTRACT
The modern era has many challenges, not the least of which is the ongoing need to master new terms and concepts. Consider that most English speakers can boast of a 4000-word vocabulary. Shakespeare’s vocabulary, perhaps unmatched in the history of English writers, boasted a documented vocabulary of more than 29,000 words, including more than 1700 words he coined that are now used in everyday speech (Khurana 2006). All of this pales in comparison with the geometrical increase in the number of terms and concepts that characterize the advances in life and healthcare technologies representative of the modern era. Medicine and medical technology alone have seen an explosion of terminology and concepts within our generation.
