Chapter 2

INTRODUCTION

What you will learn in this lesson:

• to count from 1 to 499

• dialogues: taking vital signs, basic discussion of chief complaints, prescription/diet or follow-up instructions, what to do, and how often, if lab tests are needed and when

• to say words related to liquids (to be used with the verb tomar “to take/to drink”)

• the names of internal organs and parts of the reproductive system

• medical cognates

The goal of this lesson is to be able to take vital signs in Spanish, have a basic discussion of chief complaints, prescription, diet, and follow-up instructions, what should be done, how often it should be done as well as if and when lab tests are required. The goal is also to learn medical cognates and internal body parts, and to be able to recognize some common slang or vulgar terms for body parts that less educated patients might use during their medical interview.

NUMBERS

It’s probably time for a slight respite from all the seriousness here, so we’ll break up the monotony with some breathtaking numbers. Just imagine the tools you will now have available to convey information to your patients concerning weight, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, lab results, statistics, and more.

Let’s Count! — ¡Vamos a Contar!

Ejercicio 2A

Write the following numbers in Spanish. (Favor de escribir los siguientes números en español.)

1. 15 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. 28 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. 119 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. 256 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. 374 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. 473 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________

VITAL SIGNS

For preliminaries, the patient is usually weighed and then brought into the ...