Re:75% of med students are on antidepressants, stimulants, o...
by robbiep on Saturday January 05, 2019 @11:36PM
(#18836606)
I may be getting the wrong impression - but what is the point you’re trying to make - and did you just choose a shitty example?
The left, thumb, Two, carries so many problems - do you mean palmar or volar surface? Medial or lateral? I can accurately discribe a lesion at the base of the left thenar eminence and everyone who has studied anatomy anywhere in the world will understand the exact part of the body I am talking about. In another more specific example, I might describe petechial haemorrhages proximal to the iliocaecal valve.
These words aren’t in common usage but again, every medically trained human in the world would know exactly what I am describing.
I understand your last comment about languages changing over time (technical languages) - medicine is no different. See for instance the Dukes grading of bowel cancer, now largely superceeded by TNM Grading which carries specific histological and pathological meanings (as dukes does) but is applicable to all cancers.
Math however is trying to be as clear as possible and more elegant notation generally though not always wins over time. Mathematics don’t still use Roman Numerals even though they worked.
PS: Languages change over time, programmers dropped the term subroutine. This can look messy, but it’s benifical over time.