Online Medical Classes

Why is it important to understand the plural forms when discussing medical terms?

I'm asking this because I'm taking a course in medical billing and coding and having a hard time coming up with an answer to this question. example singular term is bacterium, plural form is bacteria or singular term is diagnosis, plural form is diagnoses.

Public Comments

1. I guess from a coding point of view then it comes down to being able to get funding for multiples. As funding for medical centres and hospitals is determined by the government by the data that is collected, and coding is the data, then the best way to get the most money for the organisation to function is to extract as much as possible from the information that you have. If they can legally ask for twice as much funding for a procedure then that's what is done. Coding is medical nitpicking, where your organisation gets paid for the number of nits you collect.