Thanks to the popularity of shows like ER and Grey’s Anatomy, you probably know a handful of medical terms. For instance, stat, or “at once,” CCs (cubic centimeters), and Code Blue (a patient needs resuscitation). But how about Code Brown? Or incarceritis? Or turfing?

In his book The Secret Language of Doctors, emergency room physician Dr. Brian Goldman takes a look at hundreds of such slang terms. Here we explore 17 of them (and fair warning, some of these you might be better off not knowing).

1. THE BUNKER

The bunker is where medical residents meet to hand over patients, as well as, according to Goldman, where they often let loose—with tirades riddled with slang. The term might come from the military meaning of the word, a dug-out or reinforced shelter. Defy Your Doctor and B... Sarah Cain Corriher Best Price: $10.38 Buy New $28.00 (as of 01:05 UTC - Details)

2. HOLLYWOOD CODE

While a Code Blue mobilizes the cardiac team to resuscitate a patient, Hollywood Code signals a “pretend resuscitate”—in other words, going through the motions of saving a patient who is beyond saving, usually for the benefit of the patient’s loved ones.

Named for what’s seen in the movies or on television, Hollywood Code also goes by “No Code” (as in “No Code Blue”), Slow Code, Show Code, and Light Blue.

3. BEEMER

While a beemer might refer to the ride sitting in an orthopedic surgeon’s driveway, it’s also slang for an obese patient. Beemer comes from BMI, or body mass index, a measure of body fat based on height and weight. Beemer Code refers to an extra fee a doctor might charge for treating an obese patient.

Other terms that reference obese patients include Yellow Submarine, an obese patient yellowed from liver disease, and harpooning the whale, attempting to give an epidural to an obese woman in labor.

4. CLINIC UNIT The Secret Language Of... Goldman, Dr. Brian Best Price: $9.34 Buy New $23.72 (as of 02:35 UTC - Details)

Clinic unit is used to indicate weight, where one clinic unit equals 200 pounds. “‘Three clinic units’ is a sneaky way of saying the patient weighs 600 pounds,” says Goldman. This might come from the idea that a clinic is equal to an entire facility in a hospital, which, one assumes, weighs a lot.

5. HORRENDOMA

This term for an especially bad or complicated medical condition is a blend of horrendous and –oma, the suffix for tumors.

6. GOMER

GOMER seems to have a couple of different meanings and a few different theories regarding its origin. Some say the acronym stands for “get out of my emergency room” and refers to old and sometimes demented patients with several complicated conditions. Others say it actually means “grand old man of the emergency room.”

The word was popularized by Samuel Shem, the pen name of physician Stephen Bergman, in his 1978 novel House of God. Here, it’s used to refer to patients who visit the hospital frequently with “complicated but uninspiring and Effortless Healing: 9 ... Mercola, Dr. Joseph Best Price: $1.29 Buy New $7.23 (as of 01:20 UTC - Details) incurable conditions.” However, the Oxford English Dictionary’s earliest citation is from a July 1972 issue of National Lampoon: “Gomer, a senile, messy, or highly unpleasant patient.” This might come from the earlier military slang for someone inept or stupid, perhaps named for the bumbling Gomer Pyle of The Andy Griffith Show.

7. WHINEY PRIMEY

A whiney primey is a first-time mother-to-be who comes to the hospital over and over, mistakenly thinking she’s in labor. Primey comes from primipara, a woman who’s pregnant for the first time, also known as a primp.

8. FOOBA

Perhaps inspired by FUBAR (military slang for “f***ed up beyond all recognition”), FOOBA stands for “found on orthopedics barely alive.” It’s thought among medical professionals that orthopedic surgeons are excellent technicians but lacking in other areas. For instance, an internist Goldman knows says he’s seen many patients in orthopedic wards go into heart failure due to too much IV fluid.

Orthopedic surgeons are sometimes called orthopods, which is considered disparaging because of its resemblance to anthropoid, resembling an ape.

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