Tip #314 Un-Wise Words Wednesday 1; Logic and Language Casualties

     I know it's not Wednesday, but I love words. Shocking I know - I never seem to use many of them at all.... no wait, I do. In fact, if you've even only ever read one of my posts, you'll know that I am extremely long-winded!  I love words, I love being educated and educating (which goes much better with the right words), and - another shocker - I'm rather fond of details.

     So, since there are a lot of words in the medical world that I find wonderful, wacky, weird, witty, weighty, wise, and/or sometimes just well, wonky - it's a match made in heaven! So, this weeks regular "Wise Words Wednesday" is in three instalments starting today with one small addendum; this week it's "Unwise Words Wednesday." Hope you are as entertained as I am by these often frustrating, sometimes ridiculous, and often wily yet wonky, words and phrases! Part II highlights what I like to call "Collateral Damage Casualties" and stay tuned for Part III as well - it's all about letters.... In the mean time, lets consider some of my ever-bewildering favourite Logic and Language Casualties:

It's All Greek to Me... Or  Maybe Latin
It makes sense that the names of body parts actually mean something in Latin, and thus Latin is the appropriate language for referring to anatomical parts wherever you are. For instance, the fibularis longus is the muscle that runs over the fibula (thus "fibularis"), and is the longest (hence "longus") of the three fibularis muscles. 
Bewilderment:  While this is true, many physicians seem to, well, lets say "forget," that the average person does not actually speak Latin (unless of course you live in a community where Latin is the first language I guess:).) Otherwise not all that helpful!
Life context: "Did you see Laura's new koira? So sweet - I want one too." So, koira is the Finnish word for "dog." Apparently, it's the right word for dog (I think;P). And no, it's not helpful to use a different language to name it. So why do it?
Medical example: "Well Mr. C, it seems as though your popliteal fossa has been the cause of all of your pain." Any guesses? It's the name for the space behind your knee. Your knee-pit. I'm not kidding.


The Old "Switcheroo"

Just when you think you know what something is called, someone goes and calls it something different. The tricky part is that since they don't always know the word you call it, neither one of you has any idea why the other is being so very confusing. 
Bewilderment: I just can't picture how this works. So, for some unknown reason somewhere along the way, someone (who is someone anyway?) decided that they didn't like the name of something - so they began to call it something different. And it stuck. Well, mostly. Why?

Life context: Maybe it's a dialect thing - you know - a switcheroo simply due to geographic location. Says the British person to the Canadian"Pass the torch please?" "What torch?"  "The one in your hand." "I'm not holding a torch... Oh wait, do you mean the flashlight?" Or, maybe it's an accidental switcheroo because of rising popularity or convenience. We often say "Pass the Kleenex" when we should say "Pass the tissue" as not all tissue is Kleenex. I don't think I'll ever not call it Kleenex though....

Medical example: I went to University of Waterloo. Our anatomy profs call (the afore mentioned) fibularis muscles the peroneus muscles. However, at the University of Western (3 hours from University of Waterloo), they're still called fibularis muscles. Why? I have no idea. Tricky! You know what would really mess with a lot of people? If the Profs did an exchange and started teaching their preferences..... But I digress.

My Musing:  In grocery stores, when one company makes chocolate chip cookies, other cheaper options (like No Name or PC Brands) follow suit. The same is done with many medications. However, whether PC calls their cookies Decadent or Chips Ahoy calls theirs Chewy Gooey, everyone knows the product is chocolate chip cookies.... 

But meds? Not so much.  Dimenhyrdrinate is Gravol in Canada, Dramamine in the US, and who knows what it's called anywhere else? Buscopan isn't made anymore, except that it sort of is - by another company who now calls it Hyocine - after it's primary ingredient. This gets especially confusing (as many switcheroos are prone to do), since people often know only one of the two or three most commonly used names/versions... 

My musing? Why can't we just call it "Generic Gravol" or "Generic Buscopan" and call it a day? Ah, I suppose that achieving world peace might be easier....

Double the Trouble, Double the Fun?
Sometimes a little info is confusing and too much info overwhelming, and doubly fun when two different things are called only one thing. Unlike the switcheroo (where 2 terms used interchangeably for one part),  "double the trouble" occurs when two different parts are called only one name. Just to keep you on your toes - in case you weren't already....

Bewilderment: Back to the whole Latin thing, they were very on the ball when they put names to areas,  and thus, a small understanding of the intention with which things were named gets you pretty far. For instance, calling different muscles/ligaments brevis, and longus for short and long, that makes sense. But, sometimes it can get confusing, and, unless I'm illogical (entirely possible) or they weren't all that practical for some things.

Life Context: Ever see that show - Newheart I think - where the one guy introduces himself and his brothers to everyone regularly "This is my brother Darryl, and my other brother Darryl." They're 2 different people, but look sort of the same and have the exact same name, but are 2 different human beings.

Medical example: The tib-fib joint. Actually, joints. Plural. There are 2 of them. Your shin has two bones - the tibia (tib) and the fibula (fib). And they connect twice; once at ankle (called distal tib-fib joint), and once at the knee (called the proximal tib-fib joint). Trouble is, much like the Darryl's are not named Darryl x and Darryl y, it's not that often that people ever distinguish which of the two joints are under discussion. Things can get a little confusing for non-anatomy people in such circumstances (who am I kidding - lots of medical pros get confused about it too!). 

     Okay, so I have to ask; Have you ever wondered such things or am I the only geeky one who thinks about/has experienced such things? If you have then hang in there and laugh - you're not alone! If you haven't but are entertained by my goofiness, then keep a lookout in the next few days for parts 2 and 3 anyway, there's more goofiness yet to come! In the mean time...

Happy Surviving Crazy Logic and Language!