Medical Terminology - Chapter 1, 2, 3

Prefix

attached to the beginning of a root word; changes meaning of the word. ex. endo- = inside

Suffix

attached to the end of a root word; changes meaning of the word. ex. -itis = inflammation

ab-

away (ex. absent)

Root word

basis of meaning (foundation). ex. card = heart

hypo-

below, decreased

melan

black

Hemat

blood

-emia

blood condition (ex. Leukemia)

Cyan

blue

Oste

bones

ambi-

both

hemi

half

semi

half

Card

heart

diagnosis

identification of a disease or illness

-tomy

incision into

Endocarditis

inflammation of the hearts' inner lining

scope

instrument to view

arth

joints

nephr

kidney

ren

kidney

syndrome

set of signs & symptoms that occur together as part of the disease process

-crenation

shriveling/shrinking

Derm

skin

-ole -ule

smaller parts (vein-venule-capillary; artery-arteriole-capillary)

mucous

specialized membranes that line the body cavity and produce mucus

symptom(s)

subjective & can't be measured (ex. pain, nausea, headache)

acute

sudden onset, severe course, short duration

-stomy

surgical creation of a new opening

-ectomy

surgical removal

-plasty

surgical repair (Angioplasty)

Combining vowels (a, e, i, o, u)

- must be used when combining more than 2 root words (ex. Gastroenterologist) - must be used when the suffix begins with a consonant - when adding prefix or suffix, change the spelling of the root word only

bi

2

tri

3

quad

4

hyper-

above, elevated

Ilium

Hip

-graph

Instrument used to record

Ileum

Intestines

Infection

Invasion of Microorganisms

Inflammation

Localized or generalized reaction, producing swelling in tissues

-ac

cardiac

-osis

condition of (ex. Cyanosis)

-esis

condition of (ex. enuresis)

-lysis

destruction or breaking apart (ex. Hemolysis = destruction of RBC's)

-pathy

disease

Eponym

disease, or illness, or equipment named after its inventor or discoverer (ex. Crohn's disease, McBurneys Point, Alzheimers disease, Greenfield filter, Ceasarian Section)

-al

duodenal

-megaly

enlargement

-eal

esophageal

-ile

febrile (pertaining to fever)

mucus

fluid secreted by the membrane

Hepat

liver

chronic

long duration, can be controlled, usually not curable

multi-

many

poly-

many, much

-oid

mucoid (pertaining to mucus)

-ical

neurological

null

none

sign(s)

objective & can be measured (ex. fever, BP, pulse, temp)

uni

one

mono

one, single

-algia

pain

-ary

polmonary

prognosis

probable outcome

-graphy

process of recording

-scopy

process of viewing with a scope

-gram

record/picture

Erythr

red

-ic

thoracic

ad-

toward

-ar

ventricular

Leuk

white

Gyn

woman

Jaund

yellow