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12:33 May 27, 2011
This question was closed without grading. Reason: Other
Dutch to English translations [PRO] Medical - Medical (general)
Dutch term or phrase:Arteriële bloedgasafname
I would just like to clarify whether you would interpret "afname" as "extraction" in this context.
There is a further reference to this in the text:
Zoals de naam het zegt, wordt bij de arteriële bloedgas **afname** een bloedmonster verkregen uit een arterie.
for your input! I've ended up using "taking an arterial blood gas sample".
I'm glad I'm not the only one that thought it was a strange Dutch term though! Much appreciated.
it seems like you can read / understand 'arterial blood gas sample' in different ways :-)
I don't know in which ways it should be understood, what is permitted and what is not permitted
but we seem to differ in the way we read it
I can easily accept 'arterial blood gas sample'
This is because I consider 'arterial blood gas' as a premodification of 'sample': it just indicates what kind of sample it is about
and as you can take a sample of something, why couldn't you take an arterial blood gas sample? :-)
but you need to take a blood sample in order to obtain an arterial blood gas sample :-)
does this make sense?
by the way you can find 'hemoglobin sample' (6820) and 'thyroid hormone sample' (198) on the internet (no need to add 'blood')
I must admit that this is not the first time that I phrase things in such a way that they are misunderstood by other participants in the forum. I'm afraid I don't know how to solve that, since it always comes as a surprise to me.
Regarding the expression 'take an arterial blood gas sample', I find it misleading in the sense that you don't take 'blood hemoglobin samples', 'blood insulin samples', or 'blood thyroid hormone samples' either: you take blood samples, and then measure whatever you are interested in. On the other hand, people do take 'blood glucose samples' or 'blood gas samples', which I find weirdly inconsistent. In fact, I find the use of 'blood gas samples' even more bewildering, because the term in itself implies that you are sampling blood gas - as opposed to blood liquid. Hence my classification of the term as 'misleading'.
I am aware that language is a living thing and not subject to rigid rules, so I accept this type of inconsistencies. Nevertheless, if I can avoid them I will (although I admit that I wasn't thinking along these lines at all when posting my 1st discussion entry).
Perhaps.
I'll explain.
I will admit I overlooked what you hinted at in your second entry, that is, blood extraction for blood gas analysis (and this would, given the 'incorrect' Dutch term, an acceptable translation as well.
However, I do think the way you offered your suggestion could easily be misunderstood by the asker and participants in the discussion, I did at least.
Moreover, I don't think 'take an arterial blood gas sample' is misleading at all.
An 'arterial blood gas sample' is, as I said below, a 'sample for measuring arterial blood gases'. I don't see why you could not take such a sample.
I agree 'blood extraction' or 'extract blood' is a good translation for 'bloedafname' or 'bloed afnemen', probably even better than 'take blood', while 'take a blood sample' would also be a good translation.
this discussion has more to do with misunderstandings than with different points of view:
1. 'Blood extraction' is a correct translation for 'bloedafname', even though there are many alternatives; I don't think you disagree on this, do you?
2. I did not object to 'arterial blood gas sampling' or 'take an arterial blood gas sample' as a translation, quite the opposite! I know this term is widely used (Google), even though I think it is misleading - for the same reason that I am against the term 'arteriële bloedgasafname'.
3. I never proposed 'arterial blood gas extraction' or 'extract an arterial blood gas sample' as a translation (and I agree with both of you that that would not be right). All I said was I thought 'extraction' was fine. In my 2nd discussion entry I proposed something like 'blood extraction for blood gas analysis'.
Bottom line: I think mhdubes has her answer: the text is about extracting/taking/etc blood, and not about 'decreasing' blood. The translations proposed by Barend are valid in the sense that 'that is what most people say'. I maintain however that 'blood extraction (or whichever alternative you prefer) for blood gas analysis' is a correct translation.
I was away from home and found your message just now.
Normally I translate 'bloedafname' or 'bloed afnemen' (and 'afnemen', 'afname' is what we are talking about here) as -
- take blood / take a blood sample
But let's focus on the question.
I can follow your point about the Dutch used and I agree.
Still, I believe that 'arterial blood gas sampling' or 'take an arterial blood gas sample' is an adequate translation of the 'incorrect' Dutch term
an arterial blood gas sample is a sample taken for measuring arterial blood gases (and related ions)
On the other hand, 'arterial blood gas extraction' or 'extract an arterial blood gas sample' sounds strange to me
In fact, 'arteriële bloedgasafname' is rather unusual and, when you think of it, an incorrect term. It is not blood gas that is sampled, but blood - and afterwards blood gas is measured in the sample.
I think it is OK to use 'blood extraction' (or 'blood withdrawal' or 'blood collection') when translating 'bloedafname'. This would have to be followed in this case by something like 'for blood gas analysis'.
All the above doesn't change the fact that the translations you propose are also perfectly OK, and even a bit more succinct.
I think I may be over-proofing! I began to doubt my interpretation since in the rest of the text, "afname" is used on a number of occasions to mean "decrease" which also fits in this case albeit not as well as "extraction".
The translation workplace 
