title: Proper use of medical language: Main problems and solutions.
abstract: Medical language should be characterized by its precision, emotional neutrality and stability. The effective communication of results of scientific studies depends on compliance with current standards of drafting and style; texts with defects can hinder interest in the findings. In this study, we discuss some of the most common problems and errors in medical language, including the abuse of abbreviations and foreign words, the use of improper words, syntax errors and solecisms, the most common errors in titles and the abuse of capital letters and the gerund. Investigators have effective tools for dealing with these problems, such as quality texts, critical dictionaries of questions and difficulties with the Spanish language and various drafting and style manuals.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Gestión de la Innovación y del Conocimiento-Ingenio (CSIC-Universitat Politècnica de València), UISYS-Universitat de València, Valencia, España. Electronic address: Rafael.aleixandre@uv.es.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Aleixandre-Benavent
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Historia de la Ciencia y Documentación, Universitat de València, Valencia, España.
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Valderrama Zurián
authors.affiliation: Plan Municipal de Drogodependencias, UPCCA-Valencia, Concejalía de Sanidad, Ayuntamiento de Valencia, Valencia, España.
authors.forename: F J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Bueno-Cañigral
keywords: Corrección lingüística; Escritura científica; Estilo científico; Language correction; Lenguaje médico; Medical language; Scientific style; Scientific writing