OET Vocabulary: Medical Terms, Patient Language and Abbreviations for All Four Sub-tests

As far as we can find, OET does not publish a vocabulary list, and you do not need one. The test is built from ordinary healthcare situations, so the words are the ones used on a ward or in a clinic every day. What makes OET vocabulary hard is that you need most words in three forms: the medical term you hear and read, the plain words you say to a patient, and the short form written in case notes.

This page covers all three, shows what each sub-test asks of your vocabulary, and links to our word lists by specialty.

What each sub-test asks of your vocabulary

Sub-test	What you do	What your vocabulary has to cope with
Listening Part A	Complete notes while you hear each of two consultations once	Symptoms, medications and body parts, written down recognisably at speed
Listening Parts B and C	Multiple choice on workplace extracts, talks and interviews	Paraphrase: the option says reluctant, the speaker says not keen
Reading Part A	Find details in four short texts in 15 minutes	Abbreviations, doses and drug names you must recognise at a glance and copy with exact spelling
Reading Parts B and C	Multiple choice on workplace texts and long articles	Policy and research language: contraindicated, adverse event, efficacy
Writing	Turn case notes into a letter	Expanding abbreviations into full, formal sentences
Speaking	Two role-plays with a patient, or a patient’s relative or carer	Replacing medical terms with words a patient understands

Listening and Reading are the same for every profession. Writing and Speaking are specific to yours.

Medical term and patient word: the pairs you need most

In Speaking you are marked on whether the patient can follow you. In Listening Part A the patient often says the right-hand column while the health professional uses the left, so you need to recognise both. Write the words you hear in the gap. Do not convert them into the medical term.

Medical term	Say to a patient
hypertension	high blood pressure
myocardial infarction	heart attack
tachycardia	a fast heart rate
palpitations	feeling your heart racing, pounding or fluttering
syncope	fainting; passing out
dyspnoea	shortness of breath; breathlessness
oedema	swelling caused by fluid
pyrexia	a fever; a high temperature
haemorrhage	bleeding
haematuria	blood in the urine
dysuria	pain or burning when you pass urine
dysphagia	difficulty swallowing
nausea	feeling sick
vomiting (emesis)	being sick; throwing up
pruritus	itching
erythema	redness of the skin
contusion	a bruise
laceration	a cut
fracture	a broken bone
hypoglycaemia	low blood sugar
analgesia / analgesic	pain relief / a painkiller
anticoagulant	a blood thinner (a medicine that helps prevent blood clots)
diuretic	a water tablet (US water pill)
adverse effect	side effect
benign	not cancer
malignant	cancerous
acute	starting suddenly; short-term
chronic	long-term
prognosis	the outlook; what is likely to happen
bilateral	on both sides
topical	put directly on the skin, or on another body surface such as the eye
intravenous	into a vein; through a drip
subcutaneous	under the skin
nil by mouth	nothing to eat or drink

One difference to know: in British and Australian English feeling sick means nausea and being sick means vomiting. In American English sick usually just means ill; nausea is feeling nauseous or sick to my stomach, and vomiting is throwing up.

For body parts, where the gap between the two columns is widest (axilla and armpit, umbilicus and belly button), use our Medical English Body Parts A–Z.

Abbreviations in case notes

Writing case notes and Reading Part A texts use abbreviations without explaining them. Reading them quickly saves time; expanding them correctly in your letter earns marks.

The consultation

Abbreviation	Meaning	Note
c/o	complains of	In a letter, prefer presented with or reports
Hx	history	PMH (or PMHx) past medical history, FH (or FHx) family history, SH (or SHx) social history
Sx	symptoms
O/E	on examination
NAD	nothing abnormal detected (or discovered)	In American notes it often means no acute distress or no apparent distress
Dx	diagnosis	? before a word means a possible diagnosis: ?appendicitis
Rx	prescription or treatment
SOB	shortness of breath	SOBOE on exertion
#	fracture	#NOF fractured neck of femur
2/7, 2/52, 2/12	two days, two weeks, two months	British and Australian notes
NKDA	no known drug allergies
ADLs	activities of daily living	Washing, dressing, eating and so on
R/V	review
F/U	follow-up
D/C	discharge	Can also mean discontinue. Check the context

Medications

Abbreviation	Meaning	Note
od	once daily	US qd. Both are easily misread, so often written daily
bd	twice daily	Also bid, usual in the US
tds	three times daily	Also tid, usual in the US
qds	four times daily	qid in the US and Australia
mane / nocte	in the morning / at night
prn	when required
PO	by mouth
IV / IM / SC	intravenous / intramuscular / subcutaneous
NBM	nil by mouth	US NPO

In a letter, write these out: twice daily, not bd. The dose stays as a number: metformin 500 mg twice daily.

Common conditions

Abbreviation	Meaning	Say to a patient
HTN	hypertension	high blood pressure
MI	myocardial infarction	heart attack
AF	atrial fibrillation	an irregular heartbeat
CVA	cerebrovascular accident	stroke
TIA	transient ischaemic attack	a mini-stroke
DVT	deep vein thrombosis	a blood clot in a vein, usually in the leg
PE	pulmonary embolism	a blood clot in the lung
COPD	chronic obstructive pulmonary disease	a long-term lung condition that makes breathing difficult
T2DM	type 2 diabetes mellitus	type 2 diabetes
UTI	urinary tract infection	a urine infection
GORD (US GERD)	gastro-oesophageal reflux disease	long-term acid reflux (heartburn that keeps coming back)
OA / RA	osteoarthritis / rheumatoid arthritis	arthritis. Say which type

CVA has a second meaning, the costovertebral angle on the back, as in CVA tenderness. The context tells you which.

British and American spelling

OET accepts both. British spelling is used in the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, and OET’s own sample tests are written mostly in it. Pick one system and stay with it, above all in Writing.

British	American
anaemia	anemia
haemorrhage	hemorrhage
leukaemia	leukemia
ischaemia	ischemia
oedema	edema
oesophagus	esophagus
diarrhoea	diarrhea
dyspnoea	dyspnea
paediatric	pediatric
orthopaedic	orthopedic
gynaecology	gynecology
caesarean	cesarean
tumour	tumor
labour	labor

The pattern is simple: British ae and oe usually become American e, and -our becomes -or. Some American bodies still write orthopaedic.

The verbs of a referral letter

Writing rewards a small set of formal verbs that case notes leave out. Notes say adm 3 May, Dx pneumonia, Rx IV abx. A letter says:

• presented with: Mr Lee presented with a three-day history of chest pain.
• was admitted / was discharged: She was admitted on 3 May.
• was diagnosed with: He was diagnosed with pneumonia.
• was commenced on (US was started on): She was commenced on intravenous antibiotics.
• reports / denies: He reports occasional dizziness and denies any falls.
• has been adherent to (older: compliant with): She has been adherent to her medication.
• is due for / requires: He is due for review in two weeks and requires daily wound dressings.

There is more on turning notes into sentences in how to read case notes effectively, and on what to say in a role-play in core clinical communication phrases.

Word lists by specialty

A consultation, a role-play or a set of case notes can come from any clinical area. Each list below gives the medical term, the patient wording and how the term appears in notes.

• Cardiology: chest pain, heart failure, rhythms, tests, cardiac medicines and abbreviations
• Gynaecology and women’s health: periods, conditions, examinations, treatments and abbreviations
• Body parts A–Z: the medical name for every everyday body part, with pronunciation

More specialties will be added here as they are published.

How to learn OET vocabulary

1. Keep three columns. Whenever you note a new term, write the patient wording and the abbreviation beside it. One-column lists do not prepare you for Speaking or Writing.
2. Take words from practice tests. A word you got wrong in a Part A gap is worth ten from a list. Reviewing your mistakes by cause shows how.
3. Write them by hand, from audio. Spelling under time pressure is a separate skill. Dictation practice is the quickest way to build it.
4. Say the patient version aloud. Cover the right-hand column of any table on this page and explain each term as if to a patient.

Frequently asked questions

Is there an official OET vocabulary list?

Not that we have been able to find. OET publishes sample tests and preparation guides, but no word list. The test uses the language of everyday healthcare, so the best sources are practice tests and real clinical material.

Do nurses and doctors need different vocabulary?

For Listening and Reading, no: everyone sits the same paper. For Writing and Speaking the tasks are set in your own profession, so a nurse needs the language of care plans and discharge, and a doctor the language of diagnosis and referral.

Should I learn British or American spelling?

Either is accepted. If you are applying to the UK, Ireland, Australia or New Zealand, British spelling is what you will use at work.

Can I get this as a PDF?

You can print this page or save it as a PDF from your browser’s print menu.

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Vocabulary sticks when you meet it in a task. Our free OET practice test has a sample from each sub-test with the answers explained, and the full Vol.01 set is free on the app.