Metaphors in medicine

Abstract 
Metaphors have been abundantly used in the history of medicine, describing health as harmony, the human body as mechanism, disease as disorder, and interpreting the doctor-patient relationship in terms of paternalism and consumerism. Today, metaphors are widely used by doctors and patients to describe conditions and experiences, such as burning pain, cluster headache, glue ear, whiplash injury or invasive cancer. They also play a special role in facilitating communication.