外科 wàikē surgery (branch of medicine)
How to remember 外科: 外 outside + 科 classification = surgery (branch of medicine).
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How it is used
- Surgery as a hospital department/branch of medicine: 外科医生 (wàikē yīshēng) surgeon, 骨外科 (gǔ wàikē) orthopedic surgery.
- Paired opposite 内科 (nèikē), internal medicine - the 内/外 split organizes Chinese hospital departments, 内科医生 (nèikē yīshēng) an internist.
- Not the act of an operation (that's 手术); 外科 is the specialty.