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>> but from a medical viewpoint, she isn't very credible when she claims that Terri Schiavo was "alert and oriented."

I never heard that definition of the term "oriented." It's not in my Webster's dictionary software nor in the top 50 Google links for "oriented." Are you sure it was in use in Florida in 1996?

I never heard that definition of the term "oriented." It's not in my Webster's dictionary software nor in the top 50 Google links for "oriented." Are you sure it was in use in Florida in 1996?

It has a specific medical meaning, different from the general meaning, as do many other words. From Stedman's Medical dictionary, 1976

The recognition of one's temporal, spatial, and personal relationships and environment.

It's been in use since long before I was a medical student, and remains in common use today. It is a part of the Glasgow coma score, and is standard for evaluation of those with brain injury of any sort. More technically one would say "oriented x 3" but in common use, "oriented" serves as shorthand. Also, technically orientation is not to the patient's name, which is considered the easiest thing to remember, but to the name of someone the patient knows. However today most medical people accept the patient's name.

So for a medical person to say someone is "alert and oriented" means they are claiming a very high degree of cognitive function.

“Alert and oriented” is medical term of art that is used to describe the functional level of an individual. It is considered to be normal. It is not the condition that anyone with a medical background would use to describe Terri Schiavo at the point in time of the affidavit.

I never heard that definition of the term "oriented."

I was taught in school that to document a patient as "oriented" meant they could correctly identify themselves with regard to person, place, and time. Try looking up "mental status exam"; "oriented" in this sense is (and has been for quite some time) what is meant when used in medical documentation, I believe. Perhaps retMD will correct me if I've got it wrong.