The human body is not a mechanical construct. A surgeon cannot put in a new pair of lungs the way a mechanic would replace an air filter in a car. A person is imbued with life; it is that quality that doctors strive to preserve and improve. All bodily systems contribute to this one central aspect. No one system can malfunction without affecting the whole. This is one reason why it is so important for specialists to know terms that are associated with all of the different body systems. Even if you were to work with only one system, that one system is inseparable from the whole body.
There are many examples of how this plays out every moment of the day. As an example, if the heart stops beating the body dies. If the lungs stop functioning, the body dies. No body can live without any one system. At times, it may take longer, dialysis can filter the blood, but it does not replace the liver, eventually the body fails. This is why a specialist needs to know more than the terminology for their primary interest; specialist also needs to know how the diseases relevant to their specialty affect, and are affected by the other parts and systems of the body.
In light of this knowledge, a medical student does not need rote memorization to learn medical terms related to other body systems. They need to know how their specialty relates to all the other systems. To do this, specialists need to know the correct medical terms. In the process of learning the interconnectedness of all these systems, a natural progression of education takes place that surpasses the scope of simple rote learning.
References
Feranando, T. (2008, 08 30). The Incredible Human Body Systems. Retrieved 08 30, 2012, from Scienceray: http://scienceray.com/biology/human-biology/the-incredible-human-body-systems/
InnerBody. (2012). Anatomy Systems. Retrieved 08 21, 2012, from InnerBody: http://www.innerbody.com/
Maclise, J. (n.d.). Surgical Anatomy. Retrieved 08 22, 2012, from The Guterberg Project: http://www.gutenberg.org/catalog/world/readfile?fk_files=1536213
Ng, N. (2011, 03 29). List of Human Body Systems. Retrieved 08 21, 2012, from http://www.livestrong.com/article/119973-list-human-body-systems/
