[The human, humanistic, humanist and humanitarian in medicine]

The Spanish use of words like human, humane, humanitarian, humanist and humanistic (humano, humanista, humanístico y humanitario) as synonyms has created some confusion. Human (humano) is related with man's nature, its goodness and evil; humane and humanitarian (humanitario) with kindness and benevolence; humanistic (humanístico) with the cultural and artistic movement that began in renaissance and with anthropocentric philosophy, while humanist (humanista) is identified with the fields of learning (humanities) including the arts, history, literature, and philosophy, excluding the sciences. Medicine and physicians must have all these attributes.