Medical conditions and treatments

• doler - to hurt
• dolor - pain
• enfermero(a) - nurse
• examinar - to examine, to check
• inyección - injection, shot
• poner una inyección - to give an injection
• medicina - medicine
• muletas - crutches
• pastillas - pills
• puntadas - stitches
• dar puntadas - to stitch
• radiografía - X-ray
• sacar una radiografía - to take an X-ray
• receta - prescription
• recetar - to prescribe
• roto(a) - broken
• sala de emergencia - emergency room
• sangre - blood
• silla de ruedas - wheelchair
• venda - bandage
• yeso - cast

Note: Doler has a stem-change of o to ue. Sangre is a feminine noun.

Accidents

• accidente - accident
• ambulancia - ambulance
• caerse - to fall
• me caigo - I fall
• te caes - you fall
• se cayó - he/she fell
• se cayeron - they/you fell
• chocar con - to crash into, to collide with
• cortarse - to cut oneself
• lastimarse - to hurt oneself
• ¿Qué te pasó? - What happened to you?
• romperse - to break, to tear
• torcerse - to twist, to sprain
• tropezar - to trip

Body parts

• codo - elbow
• cuello - neck
• espalda - back
• hombro - shoulder
• hueso - bone
• muñeca - wrist
• músculo - muscle
• rodilla - knee
• tobillo - ankle

Other words

• moverse - to move
• pobrecito(a) - poor thing
• ¡Qué lástima! - What a shame!
• sentirse - to feel

Note: Moverse has a stem-change of o to ue. Sentirse has a stem-change of e to ie.

Preterite of venir

The verb venir follows the same pattern in the preterite as estar, tener, and poder. All of these verbs have irregular stems and have unaccented endings.

• vine - I came
• viniste - you came (singular)
• vino - he/she came
• vinimos - we came
• vinisteis - you came (plural)
• vinieron - they came

Preterite of decir and traer

Decir and traer have the same irregular stems and unaccented endings as venir.

(decir)

• dije - I said
• dijiste - you said (singular)
• dijo - he/she said
• dijimos - we said
• dijisteis - you said (plural)
• dijieron - they said

(traer)

• traje - I brought
• trajiste - you brought (singular)
• trajo - he/she brought
• trajimos - we brought
• trajisteis - you brought (plural)
• trajeron - they brought

Preterite of poner

Poner is another preterite that follows the same verbs as the three previous verbs.

• puse - I placed
• pusiste - you placed (singular)
• puso - he/she placed
• pusimos - we placed
• pusisteis - you placed (plural)
• pusierion - they placed

Imperfect progressive tense

Use the imperfect tense forms of estar + the present participle to say that something was taking place over a period of time in the past.

Present participles

•-ar: stem + -ando → caminando (walking)
•-er: stem + -iendo → corriendo (running)
•-ir: stem + -iendo → escribiendo (writing)

Note: Remember earlier in the course you learned irregular present participles.

Vocabulario adicional

• alergia - allergy
• análisis - medical test
• antibiótico - antibiotic
• aspirina - aspirin
• camilla - stretcher
• cirujano(a) - surgeon
• estar resfriado - to have a cold
• estornudar - to sneeze
• fiebre - flu
• fractura - fracture
• gripe - flu
• hinchazón - swelling
• jarabe - cough syrup
• lesión - injury
• oído - (inner) ear
• operación - operation
• pecho - chest
• picadura - sting
• sufrir - to suffer
• tos - cough

Note: Fiebre, gripe, and tos are feminine nouns.

Cultural Insight (Seguridad Social y los servicios médicos)

Starting in the 20th Century, many Latin American countries created a Social Security system and offered low-cost or free health care to citizens. When a worker becomes sick or has an accident and can't work, their Social Security can help with medical bills and they can still receive their salaries. If the sickness is permanent, Social Security can pay the worker's pension and basic medical services and if the worker dies, Social Security will help the family. Social Security services include hospitals, medicine, and senior care.

In Costa Rica, Seguridad Social services begins when a citizen turns 50 years old and today 98% of the population is eligible for it. In Spain, the system's services begin when one turns 60 years old and covers the entire population, including legal immigrants and long-time residents. Universal healthcare in Spanish-speaking countries is avaliable in Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Panama, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela for all citizens and is avaliable for the entire population including citizens, legal immigrants, and long-time residents in Spain. Universal healthcare is still a debating issue in Mexico, the United States, and Colombia.