Is Latin useful in the medical field?!

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"Doctors Latin" isn't real Latin. But rather a mixture of Greek and Latin. On top of that some of the words are adapted to the language where the doctor is. At least in Denmark a lot of the Doctors Latin/Greek words are "Danified". I am sure that is also the case in English speaking countries, but that is for the native english speaking posters to confirm.

So Latin may be useful, but not necessary.

EDIT:
Good evening Tink
Back in the good old days when I entered medical school Latin was required to get in. But that is no longer the case (in Denmark). And as long as the youngsters are talking about medicine I can understand them and vice versa.

@Rhianna: So the existence of uneducated doctors could be an argument for banning knowledge of Latin LOL. No you are not being snobbish. After all Latin isn't anatomic pathology. I should know. I am a pathologist.

Yes! A good knowledge of Latin will help you identify the anatomical names of body parts much more easily.
Similarly, the process of learning a foreign language enhances your ability to learn and retain information. It is a wonderful brain training exercise!
Also, learning Latin will make learning other romance languages a LOT easier, meaning that you could easily pick up a second language, like Spanish or French, which would make you a highly-prized addition to any medical team.

Personal experience

I'll confirm what JLI said, lol.

If you are trying to decide what to take in high school, any of the Latin based languages will help you on the vocabulary and reading comprehension portions of college entrance exams. That seems to be the main concern when asking these questions :)

Most people entering the medical field never study Latin, and they do fine, so don't worry.

Edit: There, I corrected the above assertion. I think teaching Latin is on the decline. Where I live students are more likely to take Japanese or Arabic - And don't refer to yourself as old - you aren't much older than me, and I'm certainly not old! ;)

Never had a foreign language course (aside from English) and yet here I am, a doctor in residency training. Many terms in the field come from Latin but they're just names. It's better if you understand concepts in medicine though.

Anyhoo, I would still think it's a good idea for someone to learn a different language aside from your native tongue and English.

It's not vital to medicine, no. However, it does help on some levels. I was taught Latin, but recently we've been told not to use latin words and abbreviations on medical notes because the uneducated Doctors can't understand it. Sigh.

Edit: Sorry, my answer sounded awfully snobbish.

Cleveland 02/19/11

Whats,..Up,.?!!?? yor've been studying up on general Medicine,.Practicing as a Full Time General Practitioneer,.?

formerly,..or,.in the earlier days of Medicine in this Country,..Latin was MANDATORY,.every Doc-
tor needed to Read, Write,..and Speak Latin,.As,.the perscriptions were morely written in Latin,.?!

It be obvious as latin be injected,.largely into all languages,.And,..Medicine established Universal
Communication,.Any Doc,..could communicate with Docs from any where in the World,..is this yet the general run of things,..? Ought to yet be,?!?!!.

This will be one of the Permanent Fixtures,.along with several others in UTO's disbursements,..

Eliasis Yahwehei ( The Main Man )

in uk they cutting back on all latin based words just plain english because so many cock up.e,g two tab p.r.n or tds, qds, mane ,nocte. b.d.these latin abbr and you be hard push find dr who knew full latin for these things.plus you doing A'levels you stick with science very hard mix both

sure. you can put big names on conditions that regular people don't understand and impress them. it doesn't do a thing to get people well though.

Absolutely.