What it means
التهاب (eltehâb) means “inflammation,” the physiological response characterized by redness, heat, swelling, and pain. The word comes from the Arabic root ل-ه-ب (lahab, flame or blaze). The Arabic form iltihâb is the verbal noun of Form VIII of that root, literally “the catching of flame,” a vivid image for the heat and redness of inflamed tissue. In Persian medical language التهاب is the standard clinical term. It contrasts with عفونت (ofunat, infection): infection is the presence of a pathogen, inflammation is the body’s reaction, though both often occur together. In everyday spoken Persian التهاب is somewhat formal; patients may instead say درد و ورم (dard o varam, pain and swelling) when speaking casually.
How to use it
- زانوم التهاب داره. (zânu-am eltehâb dâre.) “My knee is inflamed.”
- التهاب گلو داری، نه عفونت. (eltehâb-e galu dâri, na ofunat.) “You have throat inflammation, not an infection.”
- این دارو التهاب رو کم میکنه. (in dâru eltehâb ro kam mi-kone.) “This medicine reduces the inflammation.”
- التهاب کبد میتونه خطرناک باشه. (eltehâb-e kabed mi-tune khatarnâk bâshe.) “Liver inflammation can be dangerous.”
Cultural note
The Arabic root ل-ه-ب (flame) also gives Persian the word لهیب (lahib, blazing flame), a vivid poetic image found in classical literature. In medicine التهاب is used as a suffix in compound clinical terms, just as “-itis” is in English: آپاندیسیت (appendicitis), گاستریت (gastritis). Iranian doctors writing prescriptions or referral letters use التهاب in the formal compound form, while patients at home tend to reach for simpler words like ورم (varam, swelling) or قرمزی (qermezi, redness) to describe what they feel.