Med Terms Chapter 2: Body Structure

inguinal

a hernia is a protrusion or projection of an organ through the wall of the cavity that normally contains it, and a common type of hernia that may occur, particularly in males, is an inguinal hernia, located in the right or left inguinal region

diaphragm

a muscular wall that separates the thoracic and abdominal cavities

abdomin/o

abdomen

epigastric

above or on the stomach, may be the region of heartburn pain, which could be symptomatic of many abnormal conditions, such as indigestion or heart attack

epi-

above, upon

super/o

above, upper

-duction

act of leading, bringing, conductin

body plane

an imaginary flat surface that divides the body into two sections. Different planes divide the body into different sections, such as front and back, left side and right side, and top and bottom. These planes serve as points of reference for describing the direction from which the body is being observed. Planes are particularly used to describe views in which radiographic images are taken

cross-sectional plane

another name for the transverse plane, some radiographic imaging devices produce cross-sectional images . cross-sectioning of an organ along different planes results in different views.

anter/o

anterior, front

AP

anteroposterior

nucleotoxic

any chemical substance, such as a drug, that interferes with or destroys the cellular reproductive process in the nucleus (such as chemotherapy drugs)

tomography

any of several radiographic procedures in which specialized machines produce a film representing a detailed cross section, or slice, of an area, tissue, or organ

dors/o

back (of body)

poster/o

back (of body), behind, posterior

adhesion

band of scarily tissue that forms between two surfaces inside the body and can cause them stick together, develop when repair mechanisms response to a tissue disturbance such as surgery, infection, trauma, or radiation, most commonly in the abdomen after abdominal surgery, inflammation, or injury

ventr/o

belly, belly side

Bx, bx

biopsy

chondr/o

cartilage

cyt/o

cell

cyt/o, -cyte

cell

thorac/o

chest

CXR

chest x-ray, chest radiograph

organism level

collection of body systems that make up the most complex level - a living human being

CT

computed tomography

anastomosis

connection between two vessels, such as the surgical joining of two ducts, blood vessels, or bowel segments to allow flow from one to the other

abdominopelvic cavity

contains the digestive and reproductive organs, this cavity contains by far the greatest numbers of organs of any of the body cavities and is further subdivided into the abdominal and pelvic cavities

thoracic cavity

contains the heart and lungs

spinal cavity

contains the spinal cord

ventral cavity

contains the thoracic cavity and the abdominopelvic cavity (separated by the diaphragm)

crani/o

cranium (skull)

distal

describes a structure as being far from the point of attachment to the trunk or from the beginning of a structure

proximal

describes a structure as being nearest the point of attachment to the trunk or near the beginning of a structure

cytolysis

destruction, dissolution, or separation of a cell

frontal (coronal) plane

divides the body into front (anterior) and back (posterior)

cranial cavity

encased by the skull and contains the brain

dist/o

far, farthest

ab-

from, away from

anteroposterior (AP) chest radiograph

frontal (coronal) plane is often used to take an AP chest radiograph, indicating that the x-ray beam enters the body on the anterior side and exits on the posterior side. The radiograph produced shows a view from the front of the chest toward the back of the body

inguin/o

groin

tissue level

groups of cells that perform a specialized function

system level

groups of organs that are interconnected or that have similar or interrelated functions

organ level

groups of tissues that perform a specific function

cephal/o

head

x-ray

high-energy electromagnetic waves (x-rays) pass through the body onto a photographic film to produce an image of internal structures of the body for diagnosis and therapeutic purposes, also called radiograph

Body cavities

hollow spaces within the body that help to protect, separate, and support internal organs. There are four body cavities (two dorsal cavities located in the back, posterior part of the body, and two ventral cavities located in the front, anterior part of the body)

ili/o

ilium (lateral, flaring portion of hip bone)

poster/ior and dors/al

in anatomical position they refer to the back of the body

anter/ior and ventr/al

in anatomical position, they refer to the front of the body

endo-

in, within

cytometer

instrument for counting and measuring cells

-meter

instrument for measuring

pelvimeter

instrument for measuring the pelvis

-graph

instrument for recording

culture & sensitivity

lab test of a body fluid placed on a culture medium to identify the cause of an infection (usually a bacterium) and a sensitivity test that determines which antibiotic drug will work to best treat the infection

LAT, lat

lateral

LLQ

left lower quadrant

LUQ

left upper quadrant

median (midsagittal) plane

lies exactly in the middle of the body and divides the body into two equal halves divides the body into right and left parts)

right and left hypochondriac regions

located on each side of the epigastric region and directly under the cartilage of the ribs; pertaining to under the cartilage of the ribs

lumb/o

loins (lower back)

infer/o

lower, below

fluor/o

luminous, fluorescence

MRI

magnetic resonance imaging

-ac, -ic, -ous, -ior

mean pertaining to, these are adjectives

medi-

middle

medi/o

middle

abduction

movement away from the body

ad-

movement toward the body

proxim/o

near, nearest

cervic/o

neck; cervix uteri (neck of uterus)

nucle/o

nucleus

cytologist

one who specializes in the study of cells

pelv/i

pelvis

-al

pertaining to

-ar

pertaining to

-ior

pertaining to

nuclear

pertaining to a nucleus

caudal

pertaining to a position toward the tail

superior

pertaining to above or upper (part of the body, organ, or structure

inferior

pertaining to below or lower (structure or surface)

abdominal

pertaining to the abdomen

periumbilical

pertaining to the area around the umbilicus (peri- : around)

dorsal

pertaining to the back (of the body)

posterior

pertaining to the back (of the body, organ, or structure)

ventral

pertaining to the belly side (front of the body)

thoracic

pertaining to the chest

cranial

pertaining to the cranium or skull

distal

pertaining to the farthest (point of attachment)

anterior

pertaining to the front (of the body, organ, or structure)

inguinal

pertaining to the groin

iliac

pertaining to the ilium

lumbar

pertaining to the loin area or lower back

lumboabdominal

pertaining to the loins and abdomen

medial

pertaining to the middle

proximal

pertaining to the nearest (point of attachment)

cervical

pertaining to the neck of the body or the neck of the uterus

lateral

pertaining to the side

spinal

pertaining to the spine or spinal column

gastric

pertaining to the stomach

PET

positron emission tomography

PA

posteroanterior; pernicious anemia; pulmonary artery; physician assistant

cauterize

process of burning abnormal tissue with electricity, freezing, heat, or chemicals (silver nitrate)

inflammation

protective response of body tissues to irritation, infection, or allergy, signs include renew, swelling, heat, and pain

radi/o

radiation, x-ray, radius (lower arm bone on thumb side)

ultrasonography (US)

radiographic procedure in which a small transducer passed over the skin transmits high frequency sound waves (ultrasound) that bounce off body tissues and are then recorded to produce an image of an internal organ or tissue

nuclear scan

radiographic procedure that produces images of an organ or area of the body by introducing a radionuclide substance (tracer or radiopharmaceutical) that releases a low level of radiation; also called nuclear scanning, radionuclide imaging, and nuclear medicine scan

fluoroscopy

radiographic procedure that uses a fluorescent screen instead of a photographic plate to produce a visual image from x-rays that pass through the patient, resulting in continuous imaging of the motion of internal structures and immediate serial images

magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

radiographic procedure that uses electromagnetic energy to produce multiplayer cross-sectional images of the body

cephalad

refers to the direction toward the head

Nine abdominopelvic regions

right and left hypochondriac, epigastric, right and left lumbar, umbilical, right and left inguinal, hypogasatric

lumbar regions

right and left, located on either side of the umbilical region, consist of the middle right and middle left regions, located near the waistline of the body, pertaining to the loins (lower back)

RLQ

right lower quadrant

RUQ

right upper quadrant

Four quadrants of the abdominopelvic cavities

right upper quadrant (RUQ) left upper quadrant (LUQ) right lower quadrant (RLQ) and left lower quadrant (LLQ)

horizontal (transverse) plane

runs across the body from the right side to the left side and divides the body into upper (superior) and lower (inferior) parts

-lysis

separation, destruction, loosening

histolysis

separation, destruction, or loosening of tissue

later/o

side, to one side

SPECT

single-photon emission computed tomography

cutane/o

skin

Abdominopelvic Cavity Regions

smaller sections of the abdominopelvic cavity are divided into nine regions, each which corresponds to a region near a specific body point. As with the quadrants, body region designation is also used to describe the location of internal organs and the origin of pain and other symptoms

Cellular level

smallest structural and functional unit of the body

-logist

specialist in the study of

histologist

specialist in the study of tissue

spin/o

spine

gastr/o

stomach

-logy

study of

cytology

study of cells

dorsal cavity

subdivided into the cranial and spinal cavities

septicemia

systemic disease caused by infection with microorganisms and their toxins in circulating blood, also called sepsis and blood poisoning, often accompanied with low BP

caud/o

tail

abdominopelvic cavity

the abdominal and pelvic cavities, they aren't separated by a wall so they're commonly referred together as the abdominopelvic cavity

hypogastric region

the area between the right and left inguinal regions, this region contains the large intestine (colon) which is involved in the removal of solid waste from the body, literally means pertaining to below the stomach

umbilical region

the center of the umbilical region marks the point where the umbilical cord of the mother enters the fetus, which is called the navel or the belly button, the umbilical region lies between the right and left lumbar regions, literally means pertaining to the navel

vetral cavities

thoracic cavity, abdomino-pelvic cavity (abdominal cavity and pelvic cavity)

trans-

through, across

hist/o

tissue

computed tomography (CT)

tomography in which a narrow beam of x-rays rotates in a full arc around the patient to acquire multiple views of the body, which a computer interprets to produce cross-sectional images of an internal organ or tissue, also called computerized axial tomography (CAT) scan

-ad

toward

cephalad

toward the head

mediad

toward the middle or center

caudad

toward the tail

-oma

tumor

chondroma

tumor composed of cartilage

-verse

turning

US

ultrasound; ultrasonography

umbilic/o

umbilicus, naval

hypogastric

under or below the stomach

hypo-

under, below, deficient

super-

upper, above

endoscopy

visual examination of the interior of organs and cavities with specialized lighted instrument called an endoscope

anatomical position

when a person is standing upright, facing forward, arms at his or her sides, palms facing forward, legs parallel, and feet slightly apart with the toes pointing forward

suffixes that mean pertaining to

-ac, -al, -ar, -ary, -eal, -iac, -ic, -ior, -ous, -tic