Medical Terminology: Orientation for PA School
Epi-
ABOVE, UPON
Abdomin/o
Abdomen
Lapar/o
Abdomen
Lapar/o or abdomen/o
Abdomen (area between chest and hips)
-Osis
Abnormal condition
Trans-
Across, through
Internist
Adult comprehensive care in an office or hospital setting
Post-
After, behind
Anti-
Against
Cell
All parts of the body are compose of these individual units i.e. muscle, nerve, skin, none cells
Cyt/o
Cell
-Cyte
Cell i.e. Erthyrocyte (Red Blood Cell- carry oxygen)
Hyperplasia
Cells increase in number
Hypertrophy
Cells increase in size, not in number, opposite of atrophy
CVA
Cerebrovascular Accident (stroke)- blood is prevented from reaching areas of the cerebrum. The location of the decreased blood flow may determine different outcomes- signs and symptoms may or may not include paralysis, aphasia ( loss of speech), weakness, and change in sensation
Cerebr/o
Cerebrum (largest part of the brain)
Divisions of the back
Cervical (7) neck region Thoracic (12) chest region Lumbar (5) waist region Sacral (5 fused) lower back region Coccygeal (4 fused) tailbone region
Meta-
Change, beyond
Thorac/o
Chest
Body Systems (11)
Circulatory (blood), lymphatic (lymph, infection), digestive (break down food for energy), endocrine (hormones), female and male reproductive systems (create embryo), musculoskeletal (movement), nervous (messages to brain and spine), skin and sense organs (send messages from environment to brain), and urinary systems (create urine, toxins out of body)
Thromb/o
Clotting
Spinal Column vs. Spinal Cord
Column: bone series around spinal cord (cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacral, coccyx) Cord: bundle of nerves- base of brain down back of body
Dia-
Complete
Diagnosis
Complete knowledge gained after testing and examining the patient
DIA-
Complete, Through
Dia-
Complete, through
-IA
Condition
-ISM
Condition, process
-Ism
Condition, process
Combining Vowel
Connector between the root and suffix or roots to other roots drop the combining vowel before a suffix that starts with a vowel keep the combining vowel between word roots, even if the second root begins with a vowel
Poster/o
Back, behind
Re-
Back, behind
Retro-
Back, behind
Bacteremia
Bacterial invasion of the blood with or without symptoms
Mal-
Bad
DYS-
Bad, painful, difficult, abnormal
Dys-
Bad, painful, difficult, abnormal
Pre-
Before
Pro-
Before
Ante-
Before, forward
Pros- or Pro-
Before, forward
Root
Beginning of the word, read last, essential meaning of the term
Retro-
Behind
Hypo-
Below, less than normal, under
Sub-
Below, under
Adenoma
Benign noncancerous tumor
Myoma
Benign tumor. commonly occur in the uterus and are known as fibroids
Para-
Beside, near, along the side of
Inter-
Between
Ultra-
Beyond
Nat/i
Birth
-Emia
Blood condition
Septicemia
Blood infections result when pathogens enter the blood from a wound, more serious than bacteremia, quicker, life threatening, sepsis
Ischemia
Blood is held back from an area of the heart muscle by an occlusion of the coronary artery- muscle loses oxygen supply and nutrition, can die if persists
Oste/o
Bone
Troph/o
Development, nourishment
Diagnosis vs. prognosis
Diagnosis: examine and test patient- come to a conclusion- knowledge gained Prognosis: longterm outcome of diagnosis, prediction
Nos/o
Disease
Path/o
Disease
Peritoneum
Double membrane in the abdomen that covers organs- attaches the abdominal organs and connects them to muscles to hold them in place
Pleura
Double membrane that surrounds the lungs
Diuretics
Drugs that promote excretion of an abnormally large quantity of urine (polyuria). They are used in the treatment of hypertension to lower blood pressure by removing excess flood from the blood
Dur/o
Dura Mater (outermost meningeal membrane surrounding the brain and spinal cord
Electrocephalogram
EEG- determines whether a patient has a seizure disorder, like epilepsy
-Phagia
Eating
Coroner
Elected official who investigates suspicious death- may or may not be a medical examiner
Electr/o
Electricity
Suffix
Ending of the word, read first
Endocrine Vs. Exocrine Glands
Endocrine: secrete hormones inside bloodstream i.e. thyroid gland exocrine: secrete hormones outside bloodstream through ducts or tubes i.e. sweat and tear ducts
Esophag/o
Esophagus
Cardiomyopathy vs myocardial infarction
CM: chronic disease of heart muscle with inflammation and weakness MI: Acute condition involving an area of the heart muscle that has died as a result of ischemia, heart attack infarction=area of dead tissue ischemia=condition in which tabloid supply is held back from a part of the body
Carcin/o
Cancer, cancerous
Carcinoma
Cancerous tumor that arise from skin tissue and the lining of internal organs
Sarcoma
Cancerous tumor that grows from fleshy connective tissue of body like muscle, fat, bone, and cartilage
Carcinoma vs Sarcoma
Carcinoma: cancerous tumor from lining or organ i.e. adenocarcinoma Sarcoma: cancerous tumor from bone, cartilage, muscle or fat (connective tissue) i.e. osteosarcoma
Carp/o
Carpals (wrist bones)
Chondr/o
Cartilage (connective tissue attached to bones)
Thrombosis
Formation of thrombus- blood clot- occurs when thrombocytes and other clotting factors combine
Plasia
Formation, condition
Plas/o
Formation, growth, development
Quadri-
Four
Pleural effusion vs. ascites
PE: collection of fluid in the pleural cavity A: collection of fluid in the peritoneal cavity
Primary malignant tumor vs. breast cancer metastasis
PMT: originates and grows in a particular tissue or organ Metastasis: Spreads to a new place- new blood supply
-Algia
Pain
Types of Paralysis
Paralysis- no movement, loss of muscle function hemiplegia- half of body paralyzed, loss of muscle function, stroke quadriplegia- no arms or legs (cervical function) paraplegia- no legs, lumbar
Medical Examiner (M.E.)
Pathologist who specializes in forensic (legal) medicine related to criminal issues
Pelv/o
Pelvis (bones of the hip)
-TOMY
Process of cutting into, incision
-Opsy
Process of viewing. I.E. a biopsy is living tissue that is removed and viewed under a microscope
-Scopy
Process of visual examination
Magnetic Resonance Imagining (MRI)
Produces images of the body using magnetic waves instead of x-rays to create images which show organs or other structures in specialized detail and in all 3 planes of the body
-Globin
Protein
Aut-
Self
Computed Tomography (CT)
Series of x-ray images showing organs in cross section (transverse)
Later/o
Side
Tissues
Similar cells grouped together i.e. group of muscle cells are muscle tissues
Derm/o
Skin
Dermat/o
Skin
Crani/o
Skull
Brady-
Slow
Prefix
Small part added to the beginning of a term
Body Cavities (5)
Space that contains organs Cranial (head and skull, contains brain) thoracic (chest cavity, breastbone and ribs i.e. lungs, heart, trachea) abdominal (below thoracic, diaphragm i.e. stomach, liver, gallbladder, intestines) pelvic (below abdominal cavity, hip, has bladder, ureters, urethra, rectum, anus, and uterus) spinal (space surrounded by the spinal column)
Peritoneal Dialysis
Special fluid is inserted into the peritoneal cavity through a tube in the abdomen. the wastes seep into the fluid from the blood during a period of time. Fluid and wastes are drained from the peritoneal cavity
-IST
Specialist
-Logist
Specialist in the study of
-Phasia
Speech
Spin/o
Spine, backbone
-SIS
State of
Gastr/o
Stomach
Orth/o
Straight
-Um
Structure
Glycol/o
Sugar
Exploratory Laparotomy
Surgeon makes a large incision in the abdominal wall to inspect organs for evidence of disease
-Centesis
Surgical procedure to remove fluid i.e. thoracentesis
Peri-
Surrounding
-Dipsia
Thirst
Tri-
Three
Cis/o
To Cut
Top/o
To put, place, postition
-Gram
To record
-Mission
To send
Diabetes types 1 and 2
Type 1: Hyperglycemia- lack insulin Type 2: insufficient insulin insulin secreted by endocrine gland, pancreas insulin allows sugar to leave bloodstream and enter cells when insulin absent or not working, sugar stays in bloodstream- hyperglycemia
Rhin/o
Nose
A-, An-
Not, no, without
Uremia
Occurs when kidneys fail to function and urea (waste material) accumulates in the blood
-ITIS
Inflammation
-Scope
Instrument to visually examine
Enter/o
Intestines (often small)
Diaphragm
Muscle that separates the abdominal and thoracic cavities
A-, AN-
No, not
-uria
condition of urine i.e. hematuria
-rrhage or -rrhagia
excessive discharge of blood i.e. hemorrhage
Hyper-
excessive, more than normal, too much
-rrhea
flow, discharge ie rhinorrhea, menorrhea
-sclerosis
hardening ie atherosclerosis: most common type of arteriosclerosis (fatty plaque collects on the lining of arteries)
Ec-
out, outside
-GRAPHY
process of recording i.e. mammography
Hemodialysis
removal of blood for passage through a kidney machine to filter out waste material, such as urea
-Lysis
separation, breakdown, destruction i.e. dialysis
Epitheli/o
skin, surface tissue
-sis
state of
-Plasty
surgical repair, surgical correction ie angioplasty (use balloon and stent to open arteries that are blocked)
Gen/o
to produce, to begin
-Tomy vs. -Stomy
tomy: temporary incision -stomy: permanent or semipermanent opening
Total vs subtotal hysterectomy
total: remove cervix and uterus sub: only portion of uterus is removed
Ad-
toward, near
Bi-
two, both
Hem/o or hemat/o
blood
Myeloma
bone marrow, malignant tumor of cells in the bone marrow
Neur/o
Nerve
Neo-
New
Coccyg/o
coccyx, tailbone
Uni-
One
Sacr/o
Sacrum
Anemia vs. leukemia vs. leukocytosis
Anemia: deficiency in red blood cells or hemoglobin of rbc Leukemia: cancerous condition of increased wbc abnormal Leukocytosis: slight increase in wbc due to infection
Antigens v. antibodies v. antibiotics
Antigen-foreign substances that stimulate white blood cells to make antibodies Antibodies- destroy antigens Antibiotics- medications produced outside the body to kill or inhibit the growth of antigens such as bacteria, viruses, or fungi
An/o
Anus
Ab-
Away from
Ulcerative colitis vs crohns disease
Both are inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) with similar signs and symptoms, like abdominal pain, diarrhea, rectal bleeding. cause is unknown UC: confined to colon CD: affects last part of small intestine and may involve other areas of GI tract
Encephala/o
Brain
-Pnea
Breathing
Bronch/o
Bronchial tubes (leading from trachea to lungs)
Myelogram
Contrast material is injected into the membrane around the spinal cord (lumbar puncture) and then x-ray pictures are taken of the spinal cord, less frequent b/c of MRI
-Tomy
Cutting into
-Section
Cutting into an organ
-Ectomy
Cutting out, excision or resection of an organ or body part
Hyper-
Excessive, too much, above
Ophthalm/o
Eye
-Lapse
Fall, slide
Tachy-
Fast
Sarc/o
Flesh
Rheumat/o
Flow, fluid
Anter/o
Front
Planes of the Body
Frontal (coronal plane): vertical plane that divides the body, or body parts into front or back portions- anterior/posterior Sagittal (lateral plane): vertical plane that divides the body into right and left sides (midsagittal divides it into right and left halves) Transverse (axial) plane: Horizontal plane that divides the body into upper or lower portions, like a cross section
Aden/o
Gland
Organs
Group of different tissues working together i.e. the stomach has muscle, skin, and nerve tissues that help it function
System
Group of organs working together i.e. digestive system has stomach, mouth, esophagus, intestines, etc
Syndrome
Group of signs and symptoms that occur together indicating a particular condition, don't always know the cause examples include AIDS, Carpal Tunnel, Mitral Valve Prolapse Syndrome (MVPS)
Hematuria and Uremia
H: blood in the urine U: high levels of urea in the blood
Hemi-
Half
Cephalic/o
Head
Cardi/o
Heart
CRIN/o
Secrete
-Crine
Secretion
Autopsy
See what caused patient's death
Col/o or Colon/o
Large Intestine (colon)
Mediastinum
Large area between the lungs
Leukemia
Large number of immature, cancerous cells are found in the bloodstream and bone marrow
Larynx/o
Larynx (voice box) in upper trachea
Arthr/o
Joint
Nephr/o
Kidney
Ren/o
Kidney
Gnos/o
Knowledge
Laparotomy vs. Laparoscopy
Laparotomy: incision in abdomen to explore or remove tissue Laparoscopy: visual examination of the abdomen using small incisions to insert tools to explore or remove organs
Leukocytosis vs Leukemia
Leukocytosis: slight increase in normal white blood cell- body's response to bacterial infection Leukemia: malignant condition marked by dramatic increase in cancerous white blood cells
Bi/o
Life
Hepat/o
Liver
Lumb/o
Loin, waist
Spinal Column
Long row of bones from the neck to the tailbone, each bone is the vertebra, two or more are vertebrae
Aphasia
Loss of speech
Lymph/o
Lymph ( clear fluid in tissue spaces and lymph vessels)
Poly-
Many, much
Hematoma
Mass of blood trapped in tissues of the skin or in an organ- result of trauma and is called a bruise
Mediastin/o
Mediastinum (space between the lungs)
Pathologist
Medical doctor who views biopsy samples to make diagnosis and examines dead bodies to determine cause of death
Meninges
Membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord
Menorrhea vs menorrhagia
Menorrhea: normal discharge of good and tissue from the lining of the uterus Menorrhagia: abnormally heavy or long menstrual periods- chronic can cause anemia, common complication of myxomas (fibroids)
Men/o
Menses (monthly discharge of blood from the lining of the uterus)
Psychosis
Mental condition where patient loses touch with reality- symptoms include hallucinations and delusions
Psych/o
Mind
myoma vs myosarcoma vs myeloma vs myelogram
Myoma: tumor benign of muscle Myosarcoma: malignant tumor of muscle Myeloma: malignant condition in bone marrow myelogram: x-ray of spinal cord
-Stomy
Opening
Ex-
Out
Exo-
Outside
Extra-
Outside of
Peritone/o
Peritoneum (membrane surrounding the abdominal organs)
-AC
Pertaining to
-AL
Pertaining to
-IC
Pertaining to
-IOR
Pertaining to
ARY-
Pertaining to
-Vascular
Pertaining to blood vessels
Pharyng/o
Pharynx (throat)
Disk
Piece of flexible connective tissue, lies between each backbone, composed of cartilage
Thrombocyte
Platelet- small cell that helps blood to clot
Pleur/o
Pleura
Cuspid-
Pointed end, tricuspid on right side of heart, mitral (bicuspid) valve on left
Prognosis
Prediction (before knowledge) that is made after the diagnosis- forecasts the outcome of treatment
Erythr/o
Red
Remission vs relapse
Remission: no longer sick from disease- treatment work, no more signs or symptoms of the disease Relapse: means treatment not working, have disease again, symptoms come back after a period of time
Norm/o
Rule, order
Drome-
Running or occurring
Combining Form
The combination of the root and the combining vowel
-Ology
The study of
Odont/o
Tooth
Trache/o
Trachea, windpipe
Iatr/o
Treatment
-Therapy
Treatment i.e. cryotherapy- use liquid nitrogen or carbon dioxide snow is applied and blistering followed by necrosis results
Psychiatrist
Treatment of mental disorders
Rheumatologist
Treatment of systemic diseases affecting joints and muscles
Physiatrist
Treatment to restore function after injury or illness; physical edocone and rehab specialist
Onc/o
Tumor
-OMA
Tumor or mass
Ana-
Up, apart
Cyst/o
Urinary bladder
Vertebr/o
Vertebra (backbone)
Leuk/o
White
Con-
With, together
Syn-
With, together
Endo-
Within
Intra-
Within
End-
Within, in, inner
Gynec/o
Women, female
Radi/o
X-rays
Re-
back
In-
in, into
Cervic/o
neck of the body or neck of the uterus