Medical discourse in pathological anatomy

Georgian Med News. 2012 May:(206):63-6.

Abstract

The paper is devoted to the peculiarities of medical discourse in pathological anatomy as coherent speech and as a linguistic correlate of medical practice taking into account the analysis of its strategies and tactics. The purpose of the paper is to provide a multifaceted analysis of the speech strategies and tactics of pathological anatomy discourse and ways of their implementation. The main strategies of medical discourse in pathological anatomy are an anticipating strategy, a diagnosing strategy and an explaining one. The supporting strategies are pragmatic, conversational and a rhetorical one. The pragmatic strategy is implemented through contact establishing tactics, the conversational one - with the help of control tactics, the rhetorical one - with the help of attention correction tactics. The above mentioned tactics and strategies are used in the distinguishing of major, closely interrelated strategies: "the contact strategy" (to establish contact with a patient's relatives - phatic replicas of greeting and addressing) and "the strategy of explanation" (used in the practice of a pathologist for a detailed explanation of the reasons of a patient's death). The ethic aspect of speech conduct of a doctor-pathologist is analyzed.

MeSH terms

  • Education, Medical*
  • Humans
  • Linguistics / education
  • Linguistics / trends
  • Pathology* / education
  • Pathology* / standards