potilaan

Potilaan is the genitive singular form of the Finnish noun potilas, meaning patient. In Finnish, the genitive marks possession or association, as in phrases like “the patient’s rights” or “the patient’s condition.” The form potilaan is created by adding the genitive ending -n to the stem potilas.

In practice, potilaan is used to indicate something that belongs to or concerns the patient. Common examples include potilaan oikeudet (the patient’s rights), potilaan tila (the patient’s condition), and potilaan hoito (the patient’s care). The word appears frequently in medical documentation, guidelines, and everyday language when describing aspects related to a patient.

Finnish does not use articles, so genitive forms like potilaan are essential tools for expressing possession and relations in medical and administrative contexts. The phrase potilaan kanssa (with the patient) or potilaan hyvinvointi (the patient’s well-being) shows how the genitive links the patient to other nouns.

Understanding the use of potilaan helps in reading and composing sentences about healthcare, patient rights, privacy, and care processes. It is a standard component of medical Finnish and appears in official forms, consent documents, and clinical notes.