Glossary
Podiatrist Terms & Vocabulary
15 essential podiatrist terms with plain-English definitions: the vocabulary you’ll hear in training and on day one.
Key podiatrist vocabulary
These 15 terms come up constantly in podiatrist training, on the job and in interviews. Knowing them helps you follow instructions, document accurately and sound prepared.
- Achilles tendon
- Tendon at the back of the ankle.
- Ankle sprain
- Ligament injury.
- Bunion
- A bony bump at the big toe.
- Debridement
- Removing dead tissue.
- Diabetic ulcer
- A foot wound from diabetes.
- DPM
- Doctor of Podiatric Medicine.
- Gait analysis
- Studying walking.
- Hammertoe
- A bent toe deformity.
- Neuropathy
- Nerve damage.
- Off-loading
- Reducing pressure on a wound.
- Onychomycosis
- Toenail fungus.
- Orthotic
- A custom shoe insert.
- Peripheral artery disease
- Poor circulation.
- Plantar fasciitis
- Heel pain from tissue inflammation.
- Residency
- Post-graduate surgical training.
Practice these terms
Test yourself with the free Podiatrist practice test: it includes vocabulary questions built from this list. For a complete course, see Podiatrist training.
Browse terms from every career in our career glossary.