Primo medica pulsum tangit, deinde guttur spectat.

Medica is the feminine form, meaning female doctor.
Medicus would be masculine, meaning male doctor.

So if the subject is a woman, Latin uses medica:

• medica tangit = the female doctor touches
• medicus tangit = the male doctor touches

Here primo means first or at first.

It works adverbially in this sentence, telling you the order of actions:

• Primo ... = First ...
• deinde ... = Then / next ...

A learner may also see primum used in similar ways. In many contexts, both can introduce the first step in a sequence, though primo ... deinde ... is a very common pairing.

Pulsum is the accusative singular form, because it is the direct object of tangit.

The doctor is doing the action of touching, and the pulse is what is being touched.

So:

• tangit = she touches
• pulsum = the pulse (as the object)

This noun comes from pulsus. In this sentence, Latin changes it to pulsum because it is receiving the action.

Both are in the accusative case, because both are direct objects:

• pulsum tangit = she touches the pulse
• guttur spectat = she looks at / examines the throat

Even though they look different, they are both objects of verbs.

Because guttur is a neuter noun.

In Latin, many neuter nouns have the rule:

• nominative singular = accusative singular

So guttur can be both:

• the throat as subject
• the throat as direct object

That is why it stays guttur here, even though it is the object of spectat.

Both are:

• present tense
• third person singular
• active voice

So they mean:

• tangit = she touches
• spectat = she looks at / examines

The subject is medica, so English uses she.

Latin does not have articles like English the or a/an.

So:

• medica can mean the doctor or a doctor
• pulsum can mean the pulse or a pulse
• guttur can mean the throat or a throat

You decide from context which English article sounds right.

Latin word order is much more flexible than English word order, because the endings show the grammar.

A very common Latin pattern is to put the verb near the end:

• Primo medica pulsum tangit
• deinde guttur spectat

This feels normal in Latin, even though English usually prefers:

• First the doctor touches the pulse, then she examines the throat

So the ending of the words, not just the position, tells you who is doing what.

Because Latin often leaves out a subject when it is already clear.

In deinde guttur spectat, the verb spectat already tells you there is a he/she/it subject, and context tells you it is still medica.

So Latin does not need to repeat:

• deinde medica guttur spectat

It could repeat it for emphasis or clarity, but it is unnecessary here.

It can mean looks at, but in a sentence like this it often has the sense of examines or inspects.

So guttur spectat is not just casual looking. In a medical context, it suggests that the doctor is checking the throat carefully.

That is why English might translate it as either:

• looks at the throat
• examines the throat

Often, yes. Because Latin uses case endings, the sentence can usually be rearranged without changing the basic meaning.

For example, these would still be understandable:

• Medica primo pulsum tangit, deinde guttur spectat.
• Pulsum medica primo tangit, deinde guttur spectat.

However, word order can affect emphasis. The original sentence is neat and natural:

• Primo introduces the first action
• deinde introduces the second action

So while Latin allows flexibility, the original order is a very clear and elegant way to present the sequence.