The importance of medical translation

Medical translation is very important for several reasons. Some may seem obvious to you, while others may not immediately come to mind. However, it is a technical and complex discipline that requires numerous skills to be able to offer professional-quality work.

To obtain a high-quality medical translation, it is essential to turn to a specialised translation agency that employs trained translators with the expertise necessary for translating this type of document.

Complex and diverse documents

Firstly, medical translation is specific and complex due to the diversity of medical disciplines and documents. When we talk about medicine, we automatically think of general practitioners. However, medicine encompasses many other disciplines for which it is necessary to know how to faithfully transmit the meaning of the texts:

• Dentistry
• Dermatology
• Ophthalmology
• Surgery
• Virology 
• Psychiatry
• etc.

This variety is also found in the type of medical documents, which requires translators to have the ability to adapt, that is, to be trained and familiar with the medical sector:

• Medical reports
• Test results
• Scientific publications
• Clinical histories
• Academic documentation
• Medical reports for insurers
• etc.

Each type of document has a different purpose, structure and target audience. Each medical discipline presents its own linguistic and terminological variations. A medical translator will have been trained in all these elements and will be the best prepared to accurately translate this type of document.

Terminology and false friends

The technical and specific language of medicine contains specialised terminology that is also hardly found in other scientific fields. This terminology comprises mostly words of Latin or Greek origin, but with variations specific to the field of medicine at hand and health in general.

From one language to another, we also find many false friends, especially sentences that would completely change their meaning compared to the source text if we used a literal translation. To take a basic example, the word "drug" in English can be translated into Spanish as "droga." However, in medical language "drug" means "medicamento."

The same happens with the word "intoxicated." In Spanish, “intoxicado” means having food poisoning and not being inebriated.

These examples are very basic, but they give us an idea of the complexity of medical translation and the importance of understanding the meaning of words, expressions, and phrases well in their source context and being able to convey that meaning in the context, culture, and medical language of the target language.

The consequences of a poor translation of a medical document

A poorly translated medical document, that is, one that is approximate or different from the original meaning, can have disastrous consequences. For example, a patient may misunderstand their diagnosis, a doctor may give incorrect treatment due to lack of information, a scientific publication may be rejected, or an administrative document may be refuted by the corresponding institution in the destination country.

The health sector is a specialised area where there is no margin for error. We are talking about health, that is, people's lives. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that medical translation is precise, both in terms of terminology and meaning, and adapts the text to the target language and audience.