Chapter 1
Introduction to Healthcare Terminology
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“They do certainly give very strange, and
new fangled, names to diseases.”
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Healthcare Terminology:
Read and Write

Egyptian Tablets

Electronic health records
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Healthcare Terminology: Speak



Xeroderma (zeh roh DER mah)
Psychology (sye KALL uh jee)
Eupnea (YOOP nee ah)
Xeroderma
From Zitelli and Davis: Atlas of pediatric physical diagnosis, ed 5, Mosby
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Healthcare Terminology: Hear
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In summary, your mission

is to:




Read (understand what is written)
Write (spell correctly)
Speak (pronounce)
Hear (understand what is spoken)
the terminology covered in this course.
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Greek and Latin Origins of the Word
Tongue
Latin
lingu/o = tongue
bilingual
sublingual
Greek
gloss/o = tongue
glossary
glossitis
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Clicker Question

Healthcare terms originate from which two
languages?
A.
B.
C.
D.
English and Latin
English and Spanish
Greek and Spanish
Greek and Latin
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Nondecodable Terms


90% of healthcare terms can be built from
word parts
10% aren’t. Examples include:


Cataract
Asthma
Cataract
From Zitelli and Davis: Atlas of pediatric physical diagnosis, ed 5, Mosby
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Present and Future Conditions


Diagnosis—present condition
Prognosis—future condition
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Time/Severity of a Disease


Acute—short term and sharp
Chronic—long term and returns
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Complaints!

Sign



Objective
Observable signs
Symptom

Subjective
 Patient’s explanation
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Clicker Question

Which of the following would be a sign?
A.
B.
C.
D.
pain
blisters
nausea
dizziness
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Eponyms


Alzheimer’s disease
Achilles tendon
Alzheimer’s disease
From Finkbeiner: Autopsy pathology: a manual and atlas, ed 2, Saunders
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Abbreviations and Symbols

Abbreviations




Simple (ADHD)
Acronyms (AIDS)
Symbols (↑, ♀)
Dangerous abbreviations (OU, qid)
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Clicker Question

Terms that are named after people or places
are called:
A.
B.
C.
D.
acronyms
homonyms
eponyms
pseudonyms
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Decodable Terms

The code
Combining form (in red) + suffix (in green) =
decodable term
gloss/o + -itis = glossitis
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Decoding 101




Identify the word parts in a term
Assign meanings to the word parts
Reverse the suffix to the front of the term
Define the term
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Decoding Glossitis: Identify

Identify the word parts in the term
glossitis
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Decoding Glossitis: Assign

Assign meanings to the word parts
glossitis
tongue/inflammation of
Glossitis
From Feldman: Sleisenger and Fordtran's Gastrointestinal and liver disease, ed 8, Saunders
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Decoding Glossitis: Reverse

Reverse the meaning of the suffix to the front
of your translation
glossitis
inflammation of / tongue
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Decoding Glossitis: Define

Define the term
Glossitis: inflammation of the tongue
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Clicker Question

So which activity comes first?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Assign
Define
Identify
Reverse
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New Word Parts
Combining forms





arthr/o
gastr/o
ophthalm/o
ot/o
rhin/o
Suffixes





-algia
-tomy
-scope
-logy
-plasty
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Decoding in Action
The patient complained of chronic gastralgia.
 Identify
gastralgia
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Decoding in Action

Assign
gastralgia
stomach/pain
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Decoding in Action

Reverse
gastralgia
pain/ the stomach
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Decoding in Action

Define
gastralgia
pain (of ) the stomach
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Decoding in Action

The patient complained of chronic gastralgia
(pain of the stomach).

Is this complaint a sign or a symptom?
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Building Terms

Most terms are built according to five simple
rules.

You must know the difference between a
consonant and a vowel.

What are the vowels?
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Building Terms: Rule #1

If the suffix starts with a vowel, a combining
vowel is NOT needed to join the parts.
arthr/o + -itis = arthritis

You don’t need to keep the “o,” because the
suffix starts with a vowel.
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Building Terms: Rule #2

If the suffix starts with a consonant, a
combining vowel IS needed to join the two
word parts.
arthr/o + -plasty = arthroplasty
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Building Terms: Rule #3

If a combining form ends with the same vowel
that begins a suffix, one of the vowels is
dropped.
endocardi/o + -itis = endocarditis
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Building Terms: Rule #4

If two or more combining forms are used in a
term, the combining vowel is retained between
the two, regardless of whether the second
combining form is a vowel or a suffix.
gastr/o + enter/o + -itis
= gastroenteritis
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Building Terms: Rule #5

Sometimes when two or more combining forms
are used to make a term, special notice needs to
be paid to the order in which the combining
forms are joined.
esophag/o + gastr/o + duoden/o + -scopy
= esophagogastroduodenoscopy
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Clicker Question

Build a term meaning “pain of the ear.”
A.
B.
C.
D.
rhinalgia
rhinoalgia
otalgia
otoalgia
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Clicker Question

Build a term that means “an instrument to
visually examine the eye.”
A.
B.
C.
D.
opthalmoscope
ophthalmoscope
ophtalmscope
ophthalmscope
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Building Your Word Bank: Noun
Suffixes

Structure, thing
-is (ex: hypodermis)

Structure, thing, membrane
-um (ex: endocardium)

Small, tiny
-icle, -ole, -ule (ex: cuticle, arteriole, venule)
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Building Your Word Bank: Adjective
Suffixes

Suffixes that mean pertaining to:
-ac
-al
-ar
-ary
-eal
-ic
-ous
cardiac
cervical
valvular
coronary
esophageal
hypodermic
subcutaneous
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Building Your Word Bank: Pathology
Suffixes
-algia
-emia
-ia
-itis
cephaloalgia
hyperlipidemia
agastria
tonsillitis
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Building Your Word Bank: Pathology
Suffixes
-malacia
-megaly
chondromalacia
splenomegaly
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Building Your Word Bank: Pathology
Suffixes
-ptosis
-sclerosis
-stenosis
hysteroptosis
arteriosclerosis
arteriostenosis
Arteriosclerosis
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Building Your Word Bank:
Diagnostic Suffixes
-graphy
-metry
-opsy
-scopy
mammography
spirometry
biopsy
hysteroscopy
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Building Your Word Bank:
Therapeutic Suffixes
-ectomy
-plasty
-stomy
-tomy
-tripsy
gastrectomy
rhinoplasty
colostomy
osteotomy
lithotripsy
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Lithotripsy
Lithotripsy
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Building Your Word Bank:
Instrument Suffixes
-graph
-meter
-scope
electrocardiograph
thermometer
ophthalmoscope
Ophthalmoscope
From Seidel: Mosby’s guide to physical
examination, ed 6, Mosby
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Building Your Word Bank: More
Instrument Suffixes
-tome
-tripter
-trite
osteotome
lithotripter
lithotrite
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Specialties/Specialist Suffixes
-logy
-logist
-ist
-er
neonatology
psychologist
dentist
polysomnographer
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Specialties/Specialist Suffixes
-iatry
-iatrist
-iatrics
-iatrician
psychiatry
psychiatrist
pediatrics
pediatrician
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Clicker Question

One who specializes in the study of bones:
A.
B.
C.
D.
osteiatrician
osteologist
osteology
osteer
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Prefixes

Prefixes modify a medical term indicating:




absence
location
number/quantity
state
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Prefixes


Are attached directly to the beginning of the
term
May have more than one meaning
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Prefixes
aananteanti-
apneic
anophthalmia
anteversion
antibacterial
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Prefixes
dysendo-, endepi-
dystrophy
endoscopy
epigastric
Endoscopy
From Monahan: Phipps: Medical-surgical nursing, ed
8, Mosby
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Prefixes
hyperhypo-
hyperglycemia
hypoglossal
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Prefixes
interintra-
intervertebral
intradermal
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Prefixes
para-, parperperipre-
paraphilia
percutaneous
pericardium
prenatal
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Prefixes
polypostsub-
polyneuritis
postictal
subhepatic
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Clicker Question

If a patient came in for a checkup before the
birth of her baby, it was a/n __________ visit:
A.
B.
C.
D.
antenatal
antinatal
postnatal
perinatal
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Clicker Question

A patient has a rash around his nose. The
physician charts it as a _________ rash:
A.
B.
C.
D.
prerhinal
perirhinal
perrhinal
polyrhinal
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Singular/Plural Endings
Singular:








vertebra
arthrosis
appendix
arthritis
phalanx
endocardium
digitus
therapy
Plural








vertebrae
arthroses
appendices
arthritides
phalanges
endocardia
digiti
therapies
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Pronunciation of Unusual Letter
Combinations
eu
ph
pn
ps
pt
rh, rrh
x
euthyroid
phalanx
pneumonitis
psychology
ptosis
rhinitis
xeroderma
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Clicker Question

The plural of pharynx (the throat) is:
A.
B.
C.
D.
pharynxes
pharyngies
pharynges
pharynxa
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Categories of Terms




Anatomy and physiology
Pathology (diseases and disorders)
Diagnostic procedures (tests)
Therapeutic interventions (treatments)
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Sort these terms into their correct
categories
Terms
1. hysteroscopy
2. endocardium
3. gastrectomy
4. hepatitis
Categories
__ Anatomy and Physiology
__ Pathology
__ Diagnostic Procedures
__ Therapeutic Interventions
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Parting Thought

You need to start studying your word parts
NOW! Use flash cards and the CD to
practice.
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