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