ABSTRACT
Within one medical tradition terminology is relatively fi xed. Fishbach, arguing how much more diffi cult legal translation is than medical translation, states: ‘. . . lexical equivalence is so extensive that it borders on terminological incest, at least in Western languages . . . basic anatomical and physiological elements underlying medical communication are the same the world over’ (Fischbach 1993: 93). It is tempting to believe that because all human beings share very similar organs, and increasingly similar diseases and conditions, we share a similar medical terminology. But the knowledge that is shared is what has been systematised by dominant cultures, such as that of the USA and Western Europe. The medical terms that emanate from scientifi c research and clinical use in those cultures have spread and are in general use by medics throughout the world who have been trained in those systems. But alongside this ‘universal’ terminology, there are cultural, geographical and popular variants. Not only is there variation in register, as between scientists writing for doctors, doctors and nurses writing for doctors and nurses, and doctors and nurses writing for patients, but also between cultures.
