Doctors and language

Abstract

I take the opportunity that has been offered to me to express, in an action editorial, my opinion about the language that we doctors use. All scientific language must be characterized by its precision and rigor, having clearly defined the meaning and connotation of the signs and words it uses, to avoid confusion and achieve universal communication. Taking care of language is not just an aesthetic issue; formal defects can render what should be clear incomprehensible and lessen the interest of the most interesting findings. The ability to express oneself in writing is a basic quality in a researcher, because its communicative effectiveness depends on the form of the text. In the same way, oral expression, used today in the most prevalent scientific meetings, should be taken care of, avoiding unnecessary Anglicisms and bad translations; for example, cacophony or similarity in writing, but having another meaning.