12.1 Phlebotomy

When and Where did I Find this Word: I first came into contact with this word today while reading a friends Facebook post that said, "I hate phlebotomy." I posted back that that sounded interesting but wish I knew what it meant. Other friends questioned if this meant taking someones blood.

What does the word mean: I decided to look the word up in the dictionary so that I could find the precise meaning  of phlebotomy. According to Dictionary.com, the term phlebotomy is a noun which means "the act of opening a vein for letting blood as a therapeutic measure."http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Phlebotomy

My familiarity with the word: Prior to my Facebook perusing, I had never heard this term used before as it is not in my current schema. My friend works in a hospital and this word would be one that she would have to know for her profession.

Do I Believe this is a Word that I should Know Well: As a social studies teacher, I probably will probably never need to know anything about taking someones blood. I do not think that I should have to know such a specific word for taking blood, however, I should be familiar with the concept of opening a vein to extract blood.

Do You Believe this is a Word You Want Others to Know Well: Well, I would really hope that anyone in the medical field such as my own doctors would be familiar with such a medical technical term such as phlebotomy. However, I do not think that the average person will need to know this term "well" because hopefully most people do not have to go through the blood letting process.