Comparative Analysis of Medical Terminology Among Korea, China, and Japan in the Field of Cardiopulmonary Bypass

Kim, Won Gon

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Vocabularies originating from Chinese characters constitute an important common factor in the medical terminologies used in 3 eastern Asian countries; Korea, China and Japan. This study was performed to comparatively analyze the medical terminologies of these 3 countries in the field of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) and; thereby, facilitate further understanding among the 3 medical societies. MATERIAL AND METHOD: A total of 129 English terms (core 85 and related 44) in the field of CPB were selected and translated into each country's official terminology, with help from Seoul National University Hospital (Korea), Tokyo Mitsui Memorial Hospital (Japan), and Yanbian University Fuzhi Hospital and Harbin Children Hospital (China). Dictionaries and CPB textbooks were also cited. In addition to the official terminology used in each country, the frequency of use of English terms in clinical settings was also analyzed. RESULT: Among the 129 terms, 28 (21.7%) were identical between the 3 countries, as based on the Chinese characters. 86 terms were identical between only two countries, mostly between Korea and Japan. As a result, the identity rate in CPB terminology between Korea and Japan was 86.8%; whereas, between Korea and China and between Japan and China the rates were both 24.8%. The frequency of use of English terms in clinical practices was much higher in Korea and Japan than in China.
CONCLUSION
Despite some inherent limitations involved in the analysis, this study can be a meaningful foundation in facilitating mutual understanding between the medical societies of these 3 eastern Asian countries.