MEDICAL
get a checkup
to have a physical examination by a physician.She got a checkup yesterday.I going to have a checkup in the morning. I hope I'm okay.
get a clean bill of health
[for someone] to be pronounced healthy by a physician.Sally got a clean bill of health from the doctor.Now that Sally has a clean bill of health, she can go back to work.
give someone a clean bill of health
[for a doctor] to pronounce someone well and healthy.The doctor gave Sally a clean bill of health.I had hoped to be given a clean bill of health, but there was something wrong with my blood test results.
go under the knife
to have a surgical operation. (Informal.)Mary didn't want to go under the knife, but the doctor insisted.If I go under the knife, I want to be completely asleep.
pass out
to faint; to lose consciousness.Oh, look! Tom has passed out.When he got the news, he passed out.
patch someone up
to doctor someone; to dress someone's wounds. (Informal.)They patched John up in the emergency room.I patched up Ann's cuts with bandages and sent her home.
subject to something
likely to have or get something, usually a disease or ailment.Bill is subject to fainting spells.Bob says he's subject to colds and the flu.
bury the hatchet
tr. to leave surgical instruments in the patient. (Medical.)Did Dr. Smith bury the hatchet again?The idea that a doctor would bury the hatchet is a very old joke.
doc(s)-in-a-box
n. a walk-in emergency healthcare center, as found in shopping centers.I was cut and went immediately to the docs-in-a-box in the mall.The doc-in-a-box finally closed because of lack of customers.
gas-passer
n. a jocular nickname for an anesthetist. (Hospitals.)My gosh! The gas-passer charged almost as much as the surgeon.The gas-passer put a needle in my arm.
gork
1.
tr. to give a patient sedation. (Hospitals.)
Dr. Wilson says to gork the patient in 226.He'll quiet down after we gork him.
2.
and GORK phr. an alleged hospital chart notation of the diagnosis “God only really knows.” (Hospitals.)
I see old Mr. Kelly is in again with a hundred complaints. His chart says GORK.He's down with gork again.
gorked (out)
mod. heavily sedated; knocked out. (Hospitals.)Once the patient was gorked, he was more cooperative.The guy in 226 is totally gorked out now.
lift
n. a surgical face-lift.He had a lift on his vacation, but his face still looked two sizes too big.We've got three lifts and a nose job in O.R. this morning.
McDoctor(s) and McDoc(s)
n. a jocular term for a walk-in emergency medical clinic as found in shopping malls.They took the kid to McDoctors, or whatever it is, over in the mall.McDocs is not cheap, but it's handy.
nose job
n. a plastic surgery operation to change the appearance of one's nose.How much does a nose job cost?I don't want a nose job. What I got is good enough.
T and A
n. an operation to remove one's tonsils and adenoids. (Hospitals.)She was scheduled for a T and A this morning at six sharp.The T and A went off without a hitch.
veggie
n. a comatose patient in a hospital. (Medical.)Mary's aunt has been a veggie in the hospital for more than a year.I don't want to lie there and rot as a veggie. I want someone to pull the plug.