Medical Conditions in Spanish: A reference guide of essential terms

Navigating medical terms in another language can be tricky, but it’s super important when it comes to health and wellness. Today’s post is intended to provide a quick reference guide to essential vocab for the most common diseases and medical conditions in Spanish.

Whether you’re a healthcare professional or you’re headed to the doctor in a Spanish-speaking country, this vocab list of Spanish medical conditions is designed for you.

General health system vocabulary

Before diving into specific conditions, let’s start with some general vocabulary on the health system in Spanish. For other basic terms for heading to the doctor, check out our other beginner post on essential Spanish health vocabulary.

English	Spanish
Doctor	El doctor, La doctora, El médico, La médico
Nurse	El enfermero, La enfermera
Hospital	El hospital
Clinic	La clínica
Emergency room	La sala de emergencia
Ambulance	La ambulancia
Medicine	La medicina
Cough syrup	El jarabe para la tos
Pill	La pastilla

Health conditions – Condiciones de salud

In the following sections, we’ll cover essential vocab for various health conditions and diseases in Spanish.

The first thing you need to know is that the word for an illness in Spanish is una enfermedad. We use the same word for a disease. A disorder is often translated as un trastorno.

If you’re headed to see a doctor, we recommend you become familiar with your body parts in Spanish. From here on, we’ll break our medical conditions in Spanish down by the region of the body they affect. Let’s take a look!

Skin conditions in Spanish

Skin conditions include a range of issues that cause irritation, inflammation, hair loss, and changes in skin pigment. Let’s take a look at the names of some common skin illnesses in Spanish.

English	Spanish
Acne	El acné
Eczema	El eccema
Psoriasis	La psoriasis
Dermatitis	La dermatitis
Hives	La urticaria
Alopecia	La alopecia
Vitiligo	El vitiligo
Warts	Las verrugas
Ringworm	La tiña
Melanoma	El melanoma
Melasma	El melasma
Scabies	La sarna
Cold sores	El herpes labial
Keratosis	La queratosis

Eye conditions and diseases in Spanish

Eye conditions can significantly affect vision and comfort. These are the names of some of the most common eye conditions in Spanish.

English	Spanish
Cataracts	Las cataratas
Glaucoma	El glaucoma
Conjunctivitis, Pinkeye	La conjuntivitis
Dry eye syndrome	El síndrome de ojo seco
Astigmatism	El astigmatismo
Myopia	La miopía
Color blindness	El daltonismo
Strabismus	El estrabismo

Heart conditions and diseases in Spanish

Heart conditions affect the cardiovascular system, influencing heart function and blood flow. These are some of the most common heart conditions and diseases in Spanish.

English	Spanish
Arrhythmia	La arritmia
Coronary artery disease	La enfermedad de las arterias coronaria
Rheumatic heart disease	La enfermedad cardíaca reumática
Valvular heart disease	La enfermedad valvular cardíaca
Heart attack	El ataque cardíaco, El ataque al corazón, El infarto al miocardio
Heart failure	La insuficiencia cardíaca
Cardiomyopathy	La miocardiopatía
Pericarditis	La pericarditis
Endocarditis	La endocarditis
Myocarditis	La miocarditis
Atherosclerosis	La aterosclerosis
Angina	La angina
High blood pressure	La hipertensión
Tachycardia	La taquicardia
Bradycardia	La bradicardia

Respiratory conditions and diseases in Spanish

Respiratory conditions affect the lungs and airways, causing difficulty in breathing and other issues. Here is a list of respiratory diseases in Spanish.

English	Spanish
Asthma	El asma
Bronchitis	La bronquitis
Emphysema	El enfisema
Pneumonia	La neumonía
Tuberculosis	La tuberculosis
Pulmonary fibrosis	La fibrosis pulmonar
Lung cancer	El cáncer de pulmón
Bronchiectasis	La bronquiectasia
Sleep apnea	La apnea del sueño
Whooping cough	La tos ferina

Digestive conditions in Spanish

Digestive conditions impact the gastrointestinal system, leading to symptoms such as inflammation, irritation, and digestive discomfort. Here is a list of some digestive diseases in Spanish.

English	Spanish
Gastritis	La gastritis
Ulcers	Las úlceras
Esophagitis	La esofagitis
Celiac disease	La enfermedad celíaca
Crohn’s disease	La enfermedad de Crohn
Colitis	La colitis
Lactose intolerance	La intolerancia a la lactosa
Diverticulosis	La diverticulosis
Irritable bowel syndrome	El síndrome del intestino irritable
Hemorrhoids	Las hemorroides
Hepatitis	La hepatitis
Gallstones	Los cálculos biliares
Pancreatitis	La pancreatitis

Endocrine conditions in Spanish

Endocrine conditions involve imbalances in hormone levels, affecting various body functions. Here’s a list of endocrine conditions in Spanish.

English	Spanish
Diabetes	La diabetes
Hypothyroidism	El hipotiroidismo
Hyperthyroidism	El hipertiroidismo
Cushing’s syndrome	El síndrome de Cushing
Hypopituitarism	El hipopituitarismo
Acromegaly	La acromegalia
Gigantism	El gigantismo
Polycystic ovary syndrome	El síndrome de ovario poliquístico
Graves’ disease	La enfermedad de Graves
Hashimoto’s thyroiditis	La tiroiditis de Hashimoto
Hypoglycemia	La hipoglucemia

Infectious diseases in Spanish

Infectious diseases are caused by pathogens like bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. They can range from mild infections to severe diseases that require urgent medical care.

English	Spanish
Influenza	La gripe, La influenza
Common cold	El resfriado común
Covid	El covid
HIV/AIDS	El VIH/SIDA
Malaria	La malaria
Hepatitis	La hepatitis
Measles	El sarampión
Chickenpox	La varicela
Mumps	Las paperas
Rubella (German measles)	La rubéola
Diphtheria	La difteria
Tetanus	El tétanos
Polio	La poliomielitis, La polio
Rabies	La rabia
Lyme disease	La enfermedad de Lyme
Ebola	El ébola
Yellow fever	La fiebre amarilla
Meningitis	La meningitis
Gonorrhea	La gonorrea
Chlamydia	La clamidia
Syphilis	La sífilis
Amebiasis	La amibiasis
Cholera	El cólera

Neurological conditions in Spanish

Neurological conditions affect the brain, the spinal cord, and the nerves, leading to physical and cognitive impairments.

English	Spanish
Alzheimer’s disease	El alzheimer
Multiple sclerosis	La esclerosis múltiple
Epilepsy	La epilepsia
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis	La esclerosis lateral amiotrófica
Migraine	La migraña
Stroke	El derrame cerebral, El accidente cerebrovascular
Dementia	La demencia
Encephalitis	La encefalitis
Meningitis	La meningitis
Narcolepsy	La narcolepsia
Fibromyalgia	La fibromialgia
Dystonia	La distonía
Hydrocephalus	La hidrocefalia

Mental health conditions

Mental health conditions impact a person’s emotional, psychological, and social well-being. Take a look at the names of common mental health conditions in Spanish

English	Spanish
Depression	La depresión
Anxiety	La ansiedad
Bipolar disorder	El trastorno bipolar
Schizophrenia	La esquizofrenia
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)	El trastorno de estrés postraumático (TEPT)
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)	El trastorno obsesivo compulsivo (TOC)
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)	El trastorno por déficit de atención e hiperactividad (TDAH)
Eating disorders	Los trastornos alimenticios
Phobias	Las fobias
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)	El trastorno del espectro autista

Conclusion: Medical conditions in Spanish

Today’s post consisted of a straightforward list of medical conditions and diseases in Spanish. We covered a wide variety of medical disciplines, listing all of the most common ailments in Spanish for each one.

This quick vocab guide can act as a good reference point if you’re in need of medical care in a Spanish-speaking country, or if you’re a medical professional dealing with Spanish-speaking patients.

For anything serious, we recommend a bilingual interpreter. For the basics, though, we hope you’ve found this post useful as you look for the relevant medical conditions and diseases in Spanish!