What is medical translation?

Medical translation services consist of all documents related to and the health field. This type of translation is important for different professionals within the sector to be able to communicate with patients or other professionals. At the same time, the translation of this type of documents offers the possibility to carry out new treatments and care with patients.

Very specific terminology

This type of document contains highly specialized language that may not be understandable to those unfamiliar with the subject matter. In medical translation, medical translators must have a wide vocabulary of specialized terms, both in the source language and in the target language. This is because a translation error not only affects the document, but can cause serious health problems for patients.In this type of translation, the content cannon be translated word for word, but maintaining the meaning of the source text. In order to do so, equivalences must be sought as accurately as possible in order to provide a good translation and not fall into “false friends”. Therefore, the translator must adapt the translation to the final purpose of the document. These purposes may be intended for professional, educational or informative purposes, among others.

When is medical translation useful?

Medical translation includes a large number of disciplines within the health field. These include pharmacy, laboratory, virology, among many other specialties. In order to provide a good and error-free translation, the translator must master the terms of these specialties, not just the general terms.One of the most common documents to be translated in the medical translation is the patient information leaflet (PIL). Also very common are medical reports, health insurance reports and scientific research, among others.At the same time, medical translation is important for those people living abroad or coming to live in our country. This is because they may need to attend medical consultations, have surgery or receive treatment. And, if so, they will need certain documentation that must be translated to be fully understood by both parties.To conclude, medical translation is a very broad translation specialty. It covers a wide range of specialties within the healthcare sector. In addition, the texts are very specific and the translator must have a great deal of knowledge of the subject matter within the source and target cultures. Otherwise, the result can be fatal for the patient.