Herniated Disc in Spanish

What it means

A herniated disc is a disk in the spine that ruptures. The spine is made up of 26 bones called vertebrae, and in between them are soft disks filled with a jelly-like substance that cushion the vertebrae. When a disk ruptures, its jelly-like center can leak and irritate the nearby nerves, which can cause sciatica or back pain. MedlinePlus describes it as all or part of a disk being forced through a weakened part of the disk, which may place pressure on nearby nerves or the spinal cord and can lead to pain, numbness, or weakness. MedlinePlus spells the word disk, also calls the condition a slipped disk or ruptured disk, and lists "Disc - herniated" among its alternative names. In Spanish the term is disco herniado.

Spanish term: Disco Herniado
Gender and article: masculine: el disco herniado
Pronunciation: DEES-koh ehr-NYAH-doh

Other Spanish terms	Where it is used	Note
hernia de disco	General	Title of the MedlinePlus en español health topic page on this condition.
hernia discal	General	MedlinePlus en español gives it as another name on its health topic page and uses it for its encyclopedia article.
hernia de núcleo pulposo	General	MedlinePlus en español lists it among the alternative names of its encyclopedia article.

Disco herniado appears in MedlinePlus en español (su doctor puede diagnosticar un disco herniado), and it is masculine: un disco herniado. The titles of its pages turn the phrase around: the health topic is Hernia de disco, with Hernia discal given as another name, and the encyclopedia article uses hernia discal. Those forms are feminine: the topic page defines una hernia de disco as a disk that ruptures, and then says the doctor can diagnose un disco herniado.

Words that go with it: the spine is la columna vertebral and its bones are vértebras. The MedlinePlus en español encyclopedia uses región lumbar for the lower back and discos del cuello (cervicales) for the neck disks, and names the symptoms dolor, entumecimiento o debilidad (pain, numbness, or weakness). Sciatica is ciática, back pain is dolor de espalda, the spinal cord is la médula espinal, and the verb the encyclopedia uses for a disk moving out of place is herniarse.

Phrases for an appointment

What a patient or a clinician might say, in English and Spanish:

Who	English	Spanish
Patient	I have pain in my lower back that goes down my left leg.	Tengo un dolor en la parte baja de la espalda que me baja por la pierna izquierda.
Clinician	Do you feel numbness or tingling in your leg or foot?	¿Siente entumecimiento u hormigueo en la pierna o en el pie?
Patient	Yes, and the pain gets worse when I cough or sneeze.	Sí, y el dolor empeora cuando toso o estornudo.
Clinician	Please try to walk on your toes and then on your heels.	Por favor, intente caminar de puntillas y luego sobre los talones.
Clinician	The exam suggests a herniated disc in your lower back.	El examen indica un disco herniado en la región lumbar.
Patient	Do I need an MRI or surgery?	¿Necesito una resonancia magnética o una cirugía?
Clinician	Most people recover with treatment; we will talk about the options.	La mayoría de las personas se recupera con tratamiento; hablaremos de las opciones.
Clinician	Contact us if you have any numbness, weakness, or changes in your bladder or bowel control.	Comuníquese con nosotros si tiene entumecimiento, debilidad o algún cambio en el control de la vejiga o de los intestinos.

In 9 languages

Language	Term
English	Herniated Disc
Spanish (Español)	Disco Herniado
Chinese (中文)	椎間盤突出
Korean (한국어)	추간판 탈출증
Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt)	Thoát vị đĩa đệm
Filipino (Tagalog)	Herniated Disc
Portuguese (Português)	Hérnia de Disco
Thai (ภาษาไทย)	หมอนรองกระดูกทับเส้นประสาท
Japanese (日本語)	椎間板ヘルニア

Where you'll see it

chartEOBreferralmedical record

Related ICD-10-CM category

ICD-10-CM code: M51 → Thoracic, thoracolumbar, and lumbosacral intervertebral disc disorders

Related terms

Your right to an interpreter in the United States

If English is not your primary language and you have difficulty communicating in English, you may need an interpreter or a translated document when you visit a doctor or dentist, go to the emergency room or pick up a prescription. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights states that two federal laws, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, require programs that receive its funding to provide language access services free of charge.

You can ask when you make the appointment or at the front desk: "I need an interpreter, please." «Necesito un intérprete, por favor.»

More terms: Bones, joints and muscles

All terms in this area: Bones, joints and muscles — Huesos, articulaciones y músculos

Sources

This page is a language reference. It is not medical advice.