Introduction

00:00

This lesson was suggested by two listeners of the Medical Spanish Podcast — Naomi Maas and Bien Nguyen — who both wrote in to ask for vocabulary related to foot care. Thank you both! It turns out this topic is richer than it might first appear, and the vocabulary comes up regularly in podiatry, primary care, wound care, and beyond. This lesson was recorded with medical Spanish teacher Daniela Grave, from Mexico.

If you want to go deeper, we have a full member series on foot care that includes lessons on toenail trimming and diabetic foot care. Below you’ll find the key vocabulary and phrases from this episode.

LEVEL – INTERMEDIATE

🔑 Want access to the full lesson? ¡Hazte miembro! (Learn the difference between a docmolly.com membership and an Apple Podcasts subscription.)

🎓 Already a Member? Access this lesson, Common Foot Conditions, in the Podiatry Module of our Spanish for Primary Care Course.

👉 Check out our other free lessons covering Dermatology and Primary Care here.

🙏 Gracias a Daniela Grave por su ayuda con esta lección.

Toenails and Skin

01:29

La dureza — hardness, roughness, toughened skin
Dureza comes from the adjective duro (hard). In the context of foot care, it describes hardened skin.

El callo — corn, callus
The most common everyday word for localized, hardened skin on the foot. In medicine, corns tend to be deeper and more concentrated than calluses.

¿Tiene callos en los pies?
(Do you have corns on your feet?)

La callosidad — callus (broader area)
A broader, more superficial area of toughened skin. A helpful definition: dureza más extensa y menos profunda que un callo — a hardness that is more extensive and less deep than a corn. In everyday conversation, callo is the word you’ll hear most often, but both terms are used clinically.

¿Tiene callosidades en los pies?
(Do you have calluses on your feet?)

Las uñas engrosadas — thickened nails
Engrosado/a comes from the verb engrosar, meaning to thicken. Thickened nails are a common finding in older patients and may also be a sign of onychomycosis.

Las uñas engrosadas son un hallazgo común en pacientes de edad avanzada y también pueden ser un signo de onicomicosis.
(Thickened nails are a common finding in older patients and may also be a sign of onychomycosis.)

La uña encarnada / la uña enterrada — ingrown toenail
Both terms are used in different regions. Encarnada is more common in Mexico and much of Latin America — it literally comes from carne (flesh): the nail grows into the flesh. Enterrada is also widely understood.

Tiene una uña encarnada en el dedo gordo del pie.
(You have an ingrown toenail on your big toe.)

La infección por hongos en las uñas — fungal nail infection

Parece que tiene una infección por hongos en varias uñas.
(It looks like you have a fungal infection on several of your nails.)

La onicomicosis — onychomycosis
The formal medical term. In conversation with patients, infección por hongos en las uñas is often clearer. Clinical signs include thickened, yellowed, or brittle nails.

Common Foot Conditions

08:04

El neuroma de Morton — Morton’s neuroma
A thickening of tissue surrounding a nerve between the toes, usually between the third and fourth. It causes pain, burning, or tingling in the front of the foot. Note that neuroma is masculine in Spanish: el neuroma.

¿Siente ardor u hormigueo entre los dedos del pie?
(Do you feel burning or tingling between your toes?)

La fascitis plantar — plantar fasciitis
An inflammation of the tissue connecting the heel to the toes. A common cause of heel pain, especially with the first steps in the morning.

¿Le duele el talón especialmente cuando da los primeros pasos por la mañana?
(Does your heel hurt especially when you take your first steps in the morning?)

El juanete — bunion
The common term for the bony prominence at the base of the big toe — a very recognizable word for Spanish-speaking patients. Note the use of usar to mean “to wear.”

¿Le molesta este juanete cuando usa zapatos?
(Does this bunion bother you when you wear shoes?)

El dedo en martillo — hammer toe
A descriptive, easy-to-remember term. Martillo means hammer — the same visual image in both languages.

Tiene un dedo en martillo en el segundo dedo del pie.
(She has a hammer toe on her second toe.)

La gota — gout
Gout and gota share the same Latin root. Gout commonly affects the metatarsophalangeal joint of the big toe.

¿Ha sufrido gota antes?
(Have you had gout before?)

¿Le duele especialmente el dedo gordo del pie?
(Does your big toe hurt in particular?)

Want access to all our lessons, organized into self-paced courses, with downloadable PDFs and Quizlet sets for spaced-repetition review? Become a member here. This lesson is part of our Podiatry for Primary Care module, which also covers toenail trimming and diabetic foot care.

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