MEDICAL AND HEALTH ISSUES

Word Association

(a) Complete the following exercise by linking each adjective (Column A) to

the noun with which it collocates (Column B). If in doubt, the strongest
collocation should be selected.

Column A Answer Column B

(a) allergic (i) tumour

(b) infectious (ii) trial

(c) malignant (iii) anaesthetic

(d) clinical (iv) procedure

(e) general (v) clock

(f) digestive (vi) condition

(g) cardiac (vii) disorder

(h) surgical (viii) arrest

(i) biological (ix) system

(j) critical (x) illness

(k) congenital (xi) consultation

(1) post-operative (xii) disease

(m) terminal (xiii) reaction

(n) bipolar (xiv) disorder

(b) Now match the collocations with their definitions:

Collocation Definition

a mental condition characterised by extremes of happiness and

sadness

a condition that will result in death no matter what

an extremely serious state of health that is immediately life

threatening

a medical operation that involves making incisions into the body

a condition whereby the heart stops functioning

the part of the body that processes the food we eat

a drug administered to a patient which puts them to sleep

the progression of time in a woman from puberty to menopause

an illness which can be passed from one person to another

an aggressive form of cancer that will spread around the body

when the immune system responds in a harmful way to exposure to

something

a way of testing a new form of medicine or treatment on human

subjects

a health problem present at and from birth

a meeting with a doctor after having undergone surgery

(c) Complete the following paragraph using some of the collocations above.
Use each collocation once only:

Coming to Terms with Cancer

The prognosis was not good; I may not have had a(n) terminal illness, but
the cancer was at an advanced stage and had spread to the lymph nodes. All
this I learned at a rather intense __________ I had with my doctor following
the excision of the lump on my throat for biopsy. The doctor had assured me
the lump was probably benign, so, as you can probably imagine, it came as
quite a shock to learn that I had a(n)_______________ , and that the
cancer had already spread. As if that wasn’t traumatic enough, I then had to
prepare myself for another _____________ the doctor would perform the
very next day – he said it couldn’t wait. I would be put under ____________
again and would be out for about one hour. I would feel very groggy for a good
two hours after waking up. ‘Why not try chemo?’ I asked him. Turns out I have
a history of ____________ to this form of treatment in my family – it nearly
killed my uncle. Apparently, chemo would do more harm than good where my
body is concerned.

At the moment my head is all over the place. The last few days have been a lot
to take in. And the situation is complicated by the fact that my partner and I
were planning to have a baby. That will have to be postponed indefinitely. But,
the thing is, I’m 33 now and my ___________ is ticking. Will I ever be able
to have a child?

II

For each group of sentences, 1 – 7, there is one suitable word which will fill all
the gaps. Find out what it is and write it in the space provided.

Example

(a) He was rushed to the Accident and Emergency room.

(b) There was a medical emergency on my flight to Seoul – luckily a doctor

was on hand to help.

(c) I work in the ER, also known as the Emergency Room. It’s not pleasant
work, but I do save lives on a daily basis.
(a) The doctors removed a foreign __________ from his skull.

(b) His __________ temperature had fallen dangerously low and he was
suffering from hypothermia.

(c) His __________ -fat content was far too high and he was put on a
special diet.

(a) The patient had a very low__________ threshold, so the doctor

administered a strong local anaesthetic.

(b) He was complaining of a throbbing__________ in his head, and then

suddenly collapsed on the floor.

(c) She prescribed the patient some strong __________ relief tablets.

(a) She was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of __________ cancer.

(b) The burn wound required a__________ graft, but seems to have healed
quite well since the procedure.

(c) Her __________ came out in an itchy red rash, which doctors blamed on
an allergic reaction to the medicine she was taking.

(a) The surgeon was forced to remove the organ entirely from its socket, and
replace it with a glass __________ .

(b) The doctor prescribed special __________ drops to counteract the

dryness problem.

(c) His black __________ was caused by none other than his six-year-old
daughter, who accidentally hit her father in the face with a toy doll she was
swinging around in the air as part of some sort of game.

(a) The patient complained of __________ spasm in the neck area.

However, the symptom disappeared within a few days.

(b) The extent of the __________ fatigue experienced by the patient was
such that he struggled to perform any task requiring even the slightest use of
force.
(c) The heart is principally composed of cardiac __________- not the type,
mind, that you can build up by going to the gym; this is a special kind found
only in the walls of the heart.

(a) The white blood__________ are those which perform the immunising
role and protect the body against infections and disease.

(b) Cancerous __________ were basically once normal, but have mutated
and begun attacking surrounding __________ and invading the rest of the
body.

(c) Examination of the __________ under a microscope revealed that the

damage was deeper than previously thought and that the disease was highly
invasive.

(a) He fractured the metatarsal__________ in his big toe and was sidelined
for six weeks. He only returned to training for the first time with the rest of the
team on Saturday.

(b) Multiple myeloma is a cancer of the __________ marrow. This type of

cancer is very serious unless caught early.

(c) The suspected break to the__________ proved to only be a bad sprain on

further examination.

Medical Abbreviations [Write these common abbreviations out in full.]

1. ER = Emergency Room 4. ICU 7. ENT Surgeon (clue: parts of the body)

2. A & E 5. GP 8. TB (clue: type of disease)

3. STD 6. DOA 9. PM (clue: ……. Autopsy)

Word Transformation

In the box below there are 15 words. You will need to use each word once only
in completing sentences 1-15. You will have to change the form of the correct
word in order for it to fit the gap in the relevant sentence.
 impair defect symptom immune hereditariness

deficient diagnose remiss prescribe spine

dependent prognose morbid therapy elect

1. The tests showed up an iron__________ , so now I have to take

supplements every morning.
2. His alcohol __________ is becoming a real issue which could potentially
ruin his life.
3. The patient’s __________ heart valve was operated on successfully this
morning.
4. You have an enhanced__________ to this strain of the flu virus – there is no
chance of you falling ill.
5. __________ injury this severe can often result in paralysis – you are a very
lucky man.
6. Why is it that I can never seem to read the handwriting on the
doctor’s__________ , but, when I hand it to the pharmacist, she seems to
understand perfectly.
7. The __________ benefits of gardening are widely acknowledged.
8. I expect that I will get breast cancer sadly at some point in my life – it’s
__________ , you see – my mother and grandmother before me had it.
9. I’m having __________ surgery to have the lesion removed. It’s a prudent
step; in two or three years time, what’s to say it won’t have mutated into
something far more deadly?
10.The cancer is in __________ thank goodness – though I haven’t got the all-
clear just yet…
11. The patient is__________ obese, which is severely impacting on his quality
of life.
12. The __________ is good – as the disease was caught early I have an
excellent chance of recovery.
13. The __________ of arthritis came as a shock to me – I’m only 32 for
goodness’ sake.
14. A mouth ulcer that lasts more than three weeks may be __________ of oral
cancer.
15. The accident left him with a permanent visual __________ .
Word Association 2

(a) Column A contains verbs which collocate strongly with nouns in Column
B. Decide which verb goes with which noun.
Column A Answer Column B

(a) sedate (i) the limb

(b) administer (ii) the wound

(c) dress (iii) an improvement

(d) deliver (iv) the baby

(e) probe (v) the wound

(f) amputate (vi) the sample

(g) admit (vii) the patient to the ward

(h) detect (viii) the drug

(i) analyse (ix) the treatment

(j) burp (x) the baby

(k) discontinue (xi) the patient

(1) develop (xii) an allergy

(b) Use the verbs from Column A above to fill in the gaps in the extract below.
You should use each verb no more than once. You will not need all the verbs.
You may need to change the tense of the verb concerned.

He was ___________ to hospital after the car accident to have his leg
_____________ . When the doctor _____________ the wound,
however, he decided the leg could be saved. The operation was a success, but
the patient had an adverse reaction to the post-op medication he was being
_____________ , and his wound got infected as a result. The doctor
immediately _____________ the course of antibiotics the patient had been
on, and the wound was _____________ promptly. A routine blood test
_____________ in the lab then resulted in a very disturbing discovery – the
patient was a carrier of the AIDS virus, unbeknownst to himself. The doctor
was forced to _____________ the bad news to the patient, who had to be
_____________ on learning of the revelation, such was his state of shock.
 Odd One Out

(a) For each of the following, 1-12, identify and circle the odd one out.

1. (a) aching (b) bleeding (c) throbbing (d) nagging

2. (a) scalpel (b) probe (c) forceps (d) bandage
3. (a) break (b) crack (c) fracture (d) wound
4. (a) sling (b) splint (c) syringe (d) brace
5. (a) stretcher (b) crutch (c) drip (d) wheelchair
6. (a) blister (b) fever (c) rash (d) spot
7. (a) coherent (b) responsive (c) conscious (d) comatose
8. (a) vomit (b) perspiration (c) phlegm (d) pus
9. (a) constipation (b) indigestion (c) meningitis (d) diarrhoea
10.(a) contagious (b) congenital (c) hereditary (d) genetic
11. (a) recuperating (b) terminal (c) lethal (d) fatal
12. (a) coroner (b) doner (c) consultant (d) physician
(b) Next, using one word from the options, a – d, for each question, 1-12,
above, fill in the gaps in I – XII below. For Question I below, you will find the
right answer-option by reviewing a – d in the corresponding question
(Question I) above, and so on.

I The patient is____________ profusely from a wound to the lower

abdomen. He needs to get to hospital immediately.

II Using his trusty ____________ , the dentist carefully extracted the tooth.

III Although incredibly painful, it proved to be little more than a

hairline____________ , which would almost certainly have healed up
within two to three weeks by itself.

IV He needed to wear a ____________ to support his back, which had been

giving him trouble for some time.

V Why they brought out the ____________ is quite simply beyond me. The
striker was back up on his feet in next-to-no-time and scored a goal barely five
minutes later.

VI Don’t even think about bursting that____________- what a disgusting

thing to do.
 VII By midnight and not having had any coffee for five hours, I was
virtually____________ but still had more work to do before I could call it a
day.

VIII I became more alarmed when I started to cough up blood in my

____________ .

IX Despite ____________ being little more than an inconvenience which

requires a few impromptu toilet visits in this part of the world, it remains a
serious killer in poorer countries.

X The area was cordoned off in the interest of safety until such time as it was
established that the disease was not ____________ .

XI The deceased had ingested a____________ dose of pain killers.

XII You need to register as a ____________ if you want your organs to be

made available to those in need upon your death.

Fifty : Fifty

For each question, chose the correct word to fill the gap from the two options
given.

1. I think you are at the wrong registration desk; this is for those staying in the
hospital overnight after surgery for monitoring, but you are an
____________.
outpatient / inpatient

2. I have suffered on-and-off with the problem very occasionally for 20

years, but it hasn’t been a(n) ____________ complaint until now – it used
to go away in a matter of days.
chronic / acute

3. The ___________ is there to support your arm in the horizontal

position temporarily until you get it set in plaster.
cast / sling

4. The _____________ or ‘fits’ as my doctor terms them are apparently

a symptom of the brain tumour and will only get worse as time goes on.
spasms / seizures
5. Please tell me the ___________ is good – I’m not ready to die.
prognosis / diagnosis

6. The good news is it’s _____________ ; the bad news is its in a part of
the body which is inoperable. All they can do, they said, is help me manage the
side-effects
malign / benign

7. My grandmother has senile___________ , so it’s not like it used to be

around her – she barely resembles the person I remember from my childhood.
dementia / amnesia

IDIOMS
Health, illness, and death
alive and kicking

If someone or something is alive and kicking they are still active or still exist.

Romance is still alive and kicking for a couple who will be celebrating their
50th wedding anniversary this week.

The twins want to let everyone know who has written to them that they are
alive and kicking.

at death’s door

If someone is at death’s door they are seriously ill and likely to die.

He has won five golf competitions in three months, a year after being at
death’s door.

NOTE: You can also say that someone is near death’s door.

The singer said he was ‘active and feeling very well’ as he responded to
reports that he was near death’s door.
NOTE: You can say that someone comes back from death’s door or is brought
back from death’s door when they have recovered from a very serious illness.

The patient has been brought back from death’s door by the new treatment,
say his doctors.

a clean bill of health

If someone is given or gets a clean bill of health they are told that they are
completely fit and healthy.

NOTE: A bill of health was a certificate which was given to a ship’s captain to
present at the next port the ship arrived at. It stated whether or not there was
an infectious disease aboard the ship or in the port it was departing from.

He had a full medical examination late last year and was given a clean bill of
health.

be dropping like flies

If people are dropping like flies, large numbers of them are falling ill or dying
within a short period of time.

Actors his age – many of them friends – were dropping like flies.

end it all

If someone ends it all they kill themselves.

Boring, grey stage lighting can be ideal if your heroine is just about to end it
all.

NOTE: This expression is usually used in a humorous way.

be fighting for your life

If someone is fighting for their life they are seriously ill or injured and are in
danger of dying.
 A boy aged 15 was fighting for his life last night but two younger children
were said to be out of danger.

NOTE: You can also talk about a fight for life.

Mary won a desperate fight for life and went on to make a full recovery.

kick the bucket

If someone kicks the bucket they die. [INFORMAL]

NOTE: The origins of this expression are uncertain. One suggestion is that the
‘bucket’ was a wooden frame which was used when killing livestock. The
animals were hung from the bucket by their back legs. After they had been
killed their legs often continued to twitch and kick against the bucket.
Ironically, this expression is now used in a humorous way.

Our neighbor is about to kick the bucket – he has some sort of kidney
infection.

knock someone for six

1. If something knocks you for six it shocks or upsets you so much that you have
difficulty recovering. [BRITISH, INFORMAL]
The emotional shock of losing a parent can knock you for six.

2. If an illness knocks you for six it causes you to be very ill and weak for a
long time.
I picked up a virus that knocked me for six. I lost a stone in weight in two
weeks.

NOTE: In cricket, six runs are scored when a batsman hits the ball so that it
lands outside the playing area without bouncing. When this happens you can
say the bowler has been hit for six.

a shadow of your former self

If someone is a shadow of their former self they are very much thinner than
they used to be.
I couldn’t believe how much weight she’d lost – she’s a shadow of her former
self.

skin and bone or skin and bones

If you describe someone as skin and bone or skin and bones you mean that
they are very thin, usually because they are ill.

A man like me can’t live on beans – I’ll soon be skin and bone.

By the end of her life she was nothing but skin and bones.

under the weather

If you are under the weather you are feeling ill.

I’d been feeling a bit under the weather for a couple of weeks.

a wake-up call

A wake-up call is something which shocks people, making them understand

how serious a problem is and causing them to take action in order to solve that
problem.

NOTE: If you have a wake-up call, you arrange for someone to telephone you
at a certain time in the morning so that you are sure to wake up at that time.

The report should be a wake-up call for governments around the world to
take action to improve healthcare resources for young people.

the worse for wear

If someone is the worse for wear they are tired or injured.

In the fourth round both fighters suffered cuts over the eyes, and the
champion was beginning to look the worse for wear.
EXERCISE
Exercise 1

Complete the sentences with the words in the box.

death | health | life | wear | alive | end | kick |

knock

1 He lay at ____________ ‘s door for months but made a miraculous

recovery.

2 After a year of illness I finally have a clean bill of ____________

3 My father is still ____________ and kicking at 85.

4 She told me that she wasn’t ready to____________ the bucket yet.

5 The man involved in the accident is fighting for his ____________ in

the local hospital.

6 A minor infection can ____________ you for six if you don’t look
after yourself.

7 It’s been a heavy week and now I’m feeling a bit the worse for
____________

8 She went through some bad times but never felt she wanted to
____________ it all.

Exercise 2

Re-order the phrases to make sentences. Add punctuation where necessary.

1 the members of / were dropping like flies / the golf club / with food
poisoning

2 was delighted / the manager /a clean bill of health / to receive / for his
team
3 her music career / in spite of / is alive and kicking / her problems

4 terribly / was a wake-up call / the heart attack / that scared him

5 from stress and / was generally / she was suffering / under the weather

6 to see / had become / that Bill / I was shocked / a shadow of his former
self

Your turn!

Have health issues affected you recently? Use the idioms in this unit to
describe any of your experiences. For example:

I felt like I was at death’s door when I had the flu last month.

I often feel the worse for wear in the morning if I don’t go to bed early
enough.