08.03.2021: Seizures that resemble epileptic seizures but are not related to epilepsy, should be called non-epileptic seizures, even though the expression is not completely precise. There are many kinds of seizures that greatly resemble epileptic seizures but that are not related to epilepsy. The most common are seizures where there are no EEG or organic brain correlations, and where there is a suspicion of underlying psychosocial causes. What should we call such seizures? This question has been a topic of discussion for many years. Many terms proposed In the 1880s, the French neurologist Jean-Martin...

17.09.2018: The designation evidence-based medicine was launched in 1991. The Journal of the Norwegian Medical Association introduced the Norwegian translation kunnskapsbasert medisin (knowledge-based medicine) in 1995. The term evidence-based medicine (EBM) was first used by the Canadian doctor Gordon Guyatt in 1991 (1, 2). The following year, Guyatt and colleagues published a groundbreaking article using this term in the title. They wrote that a new paradigm in medicine was about to take shape (3). Since that time, increasing attention has been paid to evidence-based medicine, and it has gained entry...

08.09.2015: Stigmatising and discriminatory characterisations of people as «obese» or «overweight» should be avoided in the Journal of the Norwegian Medical Association. There is general agreement that people should not be labelled by their condition or disease. This topic has been referred to in the Journal of the Norwegian Medical Association on numerous occasions (1, 2). Labels such as epileptic, diabetic, disabled or retarded should be avoided, because such characterisations may seem discriminatory, stigmatising or offensive. Nevertheless, many of us, including the undersigned, use designations such...

08.09.2015: It is easy to agree that we should avoid terms that may appear «highly stigmatising and discriminatory». But should we follow the example set by our American colleagues and replace «obese» by «obesity», or write «persons with morbid obesity» instead of «morbidly obese persons»? We asked The Language Council of Norway and received an answer from Dag F. Simonsen, Senior Adviser. Assessment by The Language Council of Norway The Language Council of Norway frequently receives questions regarding so-called sensitive words, and we have formulated our views in the document Sensitive ord [Sensitive...

30.06.2015: Should the term «intestinal flora» be weeded out of our linguistic garden? Similar to the painting The Garden of Earthly Delights (Figure 1) by Hieronymus Bosch (1450 – 1516), our digestive tract is home to a teeming diversity of life. Bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites are all part of this complex ecosystem, which is often referred to by the collective term «the intestinal flora». It is by no means self-evident that this microbial community belongs to the plant kingdom. Anton van Leeuwenhoek (1632 – 1723), who was the first to observe and describe microorganisms, in fact saw them as small...

25.11.2014: The term glycation should be used when referring to the non-enzymatic reaction, while glycosylation should be used for an enzyme-catalysed reaction. HbA1c, an index of long-term blood glucose levels, is the abbreviation for glycated haemoglobin, where glucose is bound to the haemoglobin molecule. But we also frequently see HbA1c expressed as «glycosylated haemoglobin», for example on the Norwegian Diabetes Association homepage (1), in the laboratory manuals of Oslo University Hospital (2) and the University Hospital of North Norway (3), in Wikipedia (4) and in this journal’s glossary (5). In...

10.12.2013: Have you noticed that a growing number of retirees refer to themselves as «emeritus»? Gudleiv Forr, a Norwegian journalist and author, recently pointed out that the title «emeritus» has become increasingly common in this country. One professor after another is referred to as a professor emeritus. He claims that this is a new trend. «As far as I recall, Professor Sverre Steen remained a professor to his death in 1981. So did the Professors Castberg and Andenæs. No emeritus there,» Forr wrote (1). In addition to professors, the title «emeritus» is especially used by bishops, and recently also by...

17.09.2013: The word quarantine was originally a medical term denoting the isolation of carriers of communicable diseases. Nowadays, the term in Norwegian is mainly used to describe completely different forms of exclusion. When looking up the word quarantine in a modern Norwegian dictionary, we learn that this word has two meanings. One is «temporary isolation of (potential) carriers of communicable diseases», the other is «temporary exclusion from sports contests» (1). However, the term is also increasingly used for exclusion of people from other contexts, be it financial (bankruptcy quarantine) or about...

29.05.2012: Knowledge about the origin of words makes it easier to understand anatomical names. Such insight can sometimes give a feeling of flying. Many anatomical expressions derive from the structures’ similarity with plants and animals. Comparative anatomy is regarded as founded by the French author Pierre Belon (1). If we are to believe an illustration from his book L'Histoire de la nature des oyseaux (Natural History of Birds, 1555) (2), we are all birds on the inside (fig 1). From neuroanatomy we are familiar with the Latin directional terms «rostral» (towards the beak or snout) and «caudal»...

07.02.2012: The outbreak of the influenza epidemic in 2009 caused disagreement over many things, including what to call the disease. Mexican flu, novel influenza, influenza (A(H1N1) and several others were proposed, but the term ’swine flu’ prevailed, and was appointed Word of the Year in Norway. The name «influenza» originated in Italy, hence the spelling with a z. It is derived from the Latin influentia, meaning influence, impact. At its root lies the Latin verb influere, which in Latin has the specific sense «to flow in, to stream into». This usage is related to how medieval astrologers claimed that a...