There appears to be a combination of contributing factors that affect and shape the use of EL in the Chinese data: the nature of the medical condition (e.g. disease severity, sensitivity of mental conditions), the applications and restrictions of medicine (e.g. the groups suitable or unsuitable for vaccines), the society’s health policy (e.g. the groups eligible for free treatment), the written mode, the health professional’s stance towards the health information, and potentials and constraints of an elastic/vague term (e.g. keneng vs. sihu; hen vs. guodu). Social conventions in language use are also a significant factor, an issue that is further addressed in Chapter 6.