TOEFL health and medicine vocabulary
158 words in this theme, levelled so you can tell what is worth your time at your band.
Health and medicine vocabulary spans both registers the TOEFL uses it in: everyday language about symptoms and treatment in daily-life texts, and research language about studies and outcomes in academic passages and talks.
Why this theme earns your time
This theme sits on both sides of the test, which is unusual. The same word can appear in a campus health-centre notice and in a lecture about a clinical study, and the two contexts demand different precision.
What the words look like
Every entry carries its part of speech, pronunciation, CEFR level, the collocations it actually appears in, and a sentence using it. A sample from the bank:
| Word | CEFR | Meaning | In use |
|---|---|---|---|
| achen./v. /eɪk/ | B2 | a continuous dull paina headache · ache all over | A dull ache settled in her lower back. |
| bruisen./v. /bruːz/ | B2 | a dark mark on skin or fruit from a knock; to cause onecuts and bruises · bruise easily | The fall left a bruise on her elbow. |
| detrimentaladj. /ˌdetrɪˈmentl/ | C2 | causing harm or damagedetrimental to · detrimental effect | Long periods of sitting are detrimental to health. |
| exhalev. /eksˈheɪl/ | C2 | to breathe outinhale and exhale | Exhale slowly as you lower the weight. |
| impairv. /ɪmˈper/ | C1 | to weaken or damage a functionimpair vision · impaired hearing | Lack of sleep impairs judgment first. |
| lessenv. /ˈlesn/ | C1 | to become or make smallerlessen the risk · lessen the impact | Stretching lessens the next day's soreness. |
| nerven. /nɜːrv/ | B1 | a fiber that carries messages between the brain and the bodynerve cell · damage a nerve | The professor showed how each nerve carries signals from the skin to the brain. |
| physiciann. /fɪˈzɪʃən/ | B2 | a doctor, especially one who treats illness without surgeryfamily physician · consult a physician | The campus physician recommended rest and plenty of fluids for the flu. |
| pulsen. /pʌls/ | B2 | the regular beating of the heart felt in the arteriestake someone's pulse · rapid pulse | The nurse checked the patient's pulse before starting the examination. |
| saturatedadj. /ˈsætʃəreɪtɪd/ | B2 | describing a type of fat that is linked to raising cholesterolsaturated fat · saturated with | Foods high in saturated fat can raise cholesterol and harm the heart. |
| stretchv./n. /stretʃ/ | B1 | to make longer; a continuous area or perioda stretch of road · at a stretch | Stretch before the long descent. |
| treatv./n. /triːt/ | B1 | to behave toward; to give medical care; to apply a processtreat sb well · treat a condition | The wood is treated against damp. |
What to learn at your level
Most of this theme sits at CEFR B2 (35% of its words). At band 4 the B1 and B2 entries are the ones that move your score; grinding C1 vocabulary before the B2 layer is solid is the most common way to spend weeks and gain nothing.
| Level | Words | Share |
|---|---|---|
| A2 | 9 | 6% |
| B1 | 18 | 11% |
| B2 | 56 | 35% |
| C1 | 51 | 32% |
| C2 | 24 | 15% |
Recognising a word is not knowing it
Complete the Words asks you to *produce* a word from context with only its opening letters shown, and the writing tasks ask you to produce it from nothing. That is why the PrepScore drill makes you write the word rather than flip a card, and counts it mastered only after two correct productions in a row. See how the vocabulary drill works.
Drill this theme free
Twenty words a day at no cost, tested by production rather than recognition.
Frequently asked questions
How technical is TOEFL health vocabulary?
Not very. Technical terms are defined in the passage; what is assumed is the general research language around them — sample, outcome, prolonged, adverse.
Keep reading
By PrepScore · Last reviewed · Editorial standards