Studying Latin before medical school

[Near]

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I need to know how much studying it will actually help later on.

I'm currently in the process of deciding whether to continue or drop a latin course (not college).

EDIT: Put other uses of Latin aside, I just want to know how it will affect my learning of medicine.

 

[Captain Fantastic]

Knowledge of Latin will only be of marginal help. Many words have Greek origins as well. If you're interested in it, go for it, but don't expect a windfall because you know the latin roots.

 

[mmmcdowe]

If its just latin 101, not much. Medical Latin used to be required (at least at some places), but I think that medicine has changed so much and grown away from its latin based roots. Latin 101 might help you figure out some words, but probably not that many.

 

[FutureScaresMe]

Latin? Why not learn a more practical language?

 

[Surferboy]

Studying latin wouldn't be that helpful. You have to learn all the medical terms anyway. But as Captain said...Greek makes up a big part of medicine.

But go for it if you want. It helps in jeopardy. I swear there is always a greek/latin question haha. Usually my only points.

 

[JackInTheBox]

If you're going to learn a dead language, at least make it one you can use to pick up chicks and learn French.

Otherwise, spend your time learning something more useful, like Spanish or Chinese.

 

[Near]

If you're going to learn a dead language, at least make it one you can use to pick up chicks and learn French.

Otherwise, spend your time learning something more useful, like Spanish or Chinese.

I'd think they'd disagree with your assessment that French is a dead language in France.

And I speak spanish. That's more useful anyway; they're are more spanish people in America than Chinese.

 

[LizzyM]

I need to know how much studying it will actually help later on.

I'm currently in the process of deciding whether to continue or drop a latin course (not college).

If you are still in HS, you may find that Latin is a good preparation for college in terms of vocabulary and understanding of grammar as well as a familiarity with part of the Western canon.

 

[Surferboy]

If you are still in HS, you may find that Latin is a good preparation for college in terms of vocabulary and understanding of grammar as well as a familiarity with part of the Western canon.

Lizzy makes a good point. Both Greek and Latin are very rewarding. Studying Greek has given me much more insight into English grammar than any English course I have taken in high school or college.

 

[ProteinChemist]

If you are still in HS, you may find that Latin is a good preparation for college in terms of vocabulary and understanding of grammar as well as a familiarity with part of the Western canon.

Agreed. Everything I learned about English grammar, I learned in Latin. It is a beautiful language and if you speak Latin to girls, they dig that. I attribute my verbal skills a lot to taking Latin. Unless you don't like it, you should stick with it. You can always take another foreign language on top of it. You can learn a lot about Roman civ too and the history of Western society i.e. OUR society.

 

[alehar]

I'd say go for Spanish, especially if you live in the south or west coast. Surprisingly useful, even in undergrad.

 

[littlealex]

Latin won't help.

 

[modelslashactor]

i took a class in medical greek and latin in undergrad and it's helped a lot so far in med school, especially with anatomy and path. by the time you finish you'll know all the terms anyway but picking them up is a little easier if you have the background.

if you can take a classical language class directed toward the medical field by all means take it, but learning to read and write it probably has little use. spanish would be a better use of your time in that case.

 

[JackInTheBox]

I'd think they'd disagree with your assessment that French is a dead language in France.

And I speak spanish. That's more useful anyway; they're are more spanish people in America than Chinese.

Are you planning on moving to a francophone country? I'm not trying to be a dick, but the only times I've ever spoken French in the States was with an old Vietnamese man in the ER and translating the French in random episodes of Lost. For all intents and purposes, it's a dead language in our country, except it sounds sexy as hell when you speak it. Anyway, that's beside the point since you asked about Latin, but literally thousands of people get through med school just fine without having taken Latin before.

If you're fluent in Spanish, you're in a good place for practicing in the US. Picking up something like Chinese or Korean isn't a bad idea because there are almost always large Asian populations in any major city. Once you're actually practicing medicine, you may not have the time to learn a new language, so I think that your time would be better spent learning a language that you'll potentially use every day, rather than a language that'll help you in a few med school classes.

 

[dw2158]

i'm 22. i've studied latin since i was 12. if it were a spoken language (i.e. not dead) i would be fluent. that said, my advice is to TAKE SPANISH. 🙂

 

[boggvir]

Latin is awesome. Take it. Not everything has to be practical value. It's fun, and it gives you a huge insight into English. Speaking Latin and/or Greek used to be the sign of an educated man, and to me, it still is. 😀

 

[dw2158]

Latin is awesome. Take it. Not everything has to be practical value. It's fun, and it gives you a huge insight into English. Speaking Latin and/or Greek used to be the sign of an educated man, and to me, it still is. 😀

yeah, this is all true too. there is a level of awesome dorkiness that you can reach in a latin class that no other academic pursuit can come even close to. so, so fun.

but OP asked about practicality. so i'm sticking with TAKE SPANISH.

 

[Maxx4]

Deutsch ist besser. 🙂

 

[HDMTX]

Worthless... I took Latin in undergrad... didn't really do squat for med school and further. Save yourself an elective and do something else...

 

[Disinence2]

My answer would be somewhere between totally worthless and slightly worthless

 

[Anotherface]

If you're going to learn a dead language, at least make it one you can use to pick up chicks and learn French.

Otherwise, spend your time learning something more useful, like Spanish or Chinese.

Oui Oui.

 

[Molendinarius]

Knowing Latin will make it easier to remember anatomical terms, and if you encounter new terminology, it will help you work out more precisely what was intended.
There is a Latin course specifically for medical students, that draws on the old Latin pharmacopia and the historical writings of Celsus for its examples and choice of vocabulary - an audio course has been produced to run alongside it, so you can study while working out or going for walks or whatever.

 

[KeyzerSoze]

Are you planning on moving to a francophone country? I'm not trying to be a dick, but the only times I've ever spoken French in the States was with an old Vietnamese man in the ER and translating the French in random episodes of Lost. For all intents and purposes, it's a dead language in our country, except it sounds sexy as hell when you speak it. Anyway, that's beside the point since you asked about Latin, but literally thousands of people get through med school just fine without having taken Latin before.

Since someone resurrected this thread...

Dead language:
A language, such as Latin, that is no longer learned as a native language by a speech community.

 

[TexasPrincess]

I am signed up to take Medical Terminology in the spring. I hear it is an easy class that will make Med school that much easier.