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You are here: Home / Language / What Does “Triage” Mean and How Did the Term For the Process of Prioritizing Patients Originate?

What Does “Triage” Mean and How Did the Term For the Process of Prioritizing Patients Originate?

April 9, 2020 by Karen Hill

The word “triage” is from the French word “trier”, meaning to compare and select.

It was used in reference to sorting livestock for culling or slaughter.

Triage entered medicine during the First World War, when battlefield physicians were overwhelmed with the wounded and dying.

The least likely to live were treated last.

In modern hospitals the order of triage is reversed, with priority given to the most seriously in need.

Why is a hospital’s emergency selection process called “triage”?

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Filed Under: Language

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

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