Medical Terminology
外国语与国际交流学院
许 瑾
2007年9月10日

The study of medical terminology is the
study of the parts that make up medical
words and the building of both a general
vocabulary and a vocabulary for each of
the body systems. Few linguistic
concepts need be understood before you
can analyze the terms themselves. Most
medical words are made from a
combination of the following elements:
2007年9月10日
Basic Elements of
the Medical Words:




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Base form
Combining Vowel
Prefix
Suffix
BASE is the part of a word that contains
the most fundamental meaning of the
word.

sometimes called a root or a stem;

capable of combining with another base
or suffix to form a medial word that has
meaning
2007年9月10日
For example:
gastroptosis
-gastr-
stomach
Electrocardiogram
-cardi-
heart
hepatitis
-hepat-
liver
dental
-dent-
tooth
2007年9月10日

When two bases are combined or a suffix is
added to a base, if no vowel occurs at the
junction of the two forms, a vowel called the
COMBINING VOWEL is added.

O is the most commonly occurring
combining vowel;

I is the second most common combining
vowel;

We call a base with a combining vowel a
combining form.
2007年9月10日
For example:
ur/o/log/y
o
uro-
nephr/o/lith
o
nephro-
cardi/o/vascul/ar
o
cardio-
mill/i/meter
i
milli-
pelv/i/meter
i
pelvi-
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
PREFIXES are placed before a word to alter
the basic meaning of the word.

SUFFIXES appear at the end of the word and,
in a sense, function like prefixes.

Suffixes, however, not only alter the meaning
of a word, but they also determine the various
word functions, such as part of speech or
whether the word is singular or plural.
2007年9月10日
Exercise:





anemia
microbe
germicide
microscope
cardiovascular
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

A suffix is added to the end of a word base to
change the meaning of the base or to make
the base a noun, verb, adjective, and so forth.
In medical language there are two types of
suffixes: simple and compound.
2007年9月10日
Simple suffixes are those suffixes that have
nothing added to them.
-itis
inflammation
hepatitis
nephritis
-y
a condition
atrophy
dystrophy
-al
adj. suffix
sublingual bronchial
2007年9月10日
A review of some simple suffixes
-ia
condition
anemia
-y
condition, process
splenomegaly
-e
instrument
arthrotome
-itis
inflammation
hepatitis
-ist
professional
dermatologist
-or
doer
incisor(切牙)
-osis
diseased condition
sclerosis
-oma
tumor
sarcoma
2007年9月10日

Compound suffixes are usually formed by
joining a base and a simple suffix. For
instance, we can join the base LOG and the
suffix Y to make the compound suffix LOGY,
which means the act or process of studying.
2007年9月10日
A review of some compound
suffixes
-algia
pain
-emia
blood condition leukemia
-uria
urine condition
hematuria
-malacia
softening
osteomalacia
-penia
deficiency, lack
leukocytopenia
-rrhea
flow, discharge
diarrhea
-cyte
cell
leukocyte
-centesis
surgical puncture amniocentesis
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arthralgia
-graphy process of recording
-graph
that which records
-gram
the record itself
electrocardiogram
-scopy
examining visually
cystoscopy
-scope
instrument for viewing ophthalmoscope
-tomy
incision
craniotomy
-ectomy excision
appendectomy
-stomy
gastrostomy
making an opening
2007年9月10日
Case Study for Exercise:

D.S., a 28-year-old woman, was treated for
injuries sustained in a train derailment
accident. During the course of her treatment,
she was seen by several specialists. For pain in
her knee and hip joints, she was referred to an
orthopedist(整形外科专家). For migraine
headaches and blurry vision, she consulted a
neurologist. For pain on urination and
occasional bloody urine, she saw a urologist.
Later, for a persistent dry cough and problems
resulting from a fractured nose, she was
referred to an otorhinolaryngologist.
2007年9月10日

During her initial course of treatment, she had
a CT scan of her abdomen and brain and an
MRI of her hip and knee. Both imaging studies
required her to lie motionless on her back for
45 minutes.
Several months after the accident, D.S. was
still experiencing some discomfort, and she
decided to investigate alternative therapies.
She made an appointment with a naturist
practitioner who specialized in homeopathy
and herbal medicine.
2007年9月10日
Before her appointment, she browsed in
the Nutra-Medica Shop, which carried
nutritional supplements, vitamin and
mineral products, homeopathic remedies,
and herbal formulas. She planned to ask
the therapist about some of the products
that she saw there, which included
remedies with the trade names
Pneumogen, Arthogesia-Plus, Renovite,
Nephrostat, and Hematone.
2007年9月10日
1. The –ist in the word neurologist is a
A. prefix B. root
C. suffix D. combining form
2. Endo- in endoscopic is a
A. root B. suffix
C. combining form D. prefix
3. D.S. needed plastic surgery on her nose to
repair the postfracture deformity. This
procedure is called a(n):
A. septoscope B. rhinoplasty
C. neurectomy D. rhinitis
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4. Several of the radiological imaging studies
required D.S. to lie on her back for 45
minutes. This position is referred to as:
A. supine
B. prone
C. lithotomy D. lateral recumbent
5. The products Renovite and Nephrostat are
named for their action on the:
A. lung B. nerves C. liver D. kidney
6. The meaning of the roots in
otorhinolaryngology is:
-ot/o- for ___, -rhin- for ___, -laryng- for ___.
2007年9月10日
Forming Plurals

Many medical words have special plural forms based
on the ending of the word.
Ending
Pl. Ending
Example
Pl. Example
a
ae
gingiva
gingivae
en
ina
foramen
foramina
ex, ix, yx
ices
appendix
appendices
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Ending
Pl. Ending Example
Pl. Example
is
ma
es
mata
diagnosis
sarcoma
diagnoses
sarcomata
nx (anx, inx,
ynx)
on
nges
phalanx
phalanges
um
us
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a
spermatozoon spermatozoa
a
i
ovum
embolus
ova
emboli
Exercises:
1. Vertabra (bone of the spine) VER-te-bra
2. Ganglion (mass of the nerve tissue) GANG-lē-on
3. Omentum (abdominal membrane) ō-MEN-tum
4. Testis (male gonad) TES-tis
5. Lumen (central opening) LU-min
6. Matrix (background substance) MĀ-triks
7. Serum (liquid) SĒ-rum
Vertebrae,
ganglia, omenta, testes, lumina, matrices, sera
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Pronunciation

Notes: Pronunciations may vary from
country to country, even in different regions
of the same country. Think how easy it is to
distinguish a southern accent and one from
the midwest or northeastern United States.
The general rule is to include the most
common pronunciation.
2007年9月10日


The word gynecology is usually pronounced
with a hard g in the United States, but in many
areas a soft g is used, as in jin-e-KOL-ō-jē.
Words pertaining to the cerebrum (largest part
of the brain) may have an accent on different
syllables. The adjective is usually pronounced
with the accent on the second syllable (se-REbral), but in cerebrum (SER-e-brum) and
cerebrospinal (ser-e-brō-SPĪ-nal), the accented
syllable differs.
2007年9月10日


The name for the first part of the small
intestine (duodenum) is often pronounced
dū-ō-DĒ-num, although the pronunciation
dū-O-de-num is also acceptable.
When extreme, some alternate
pronunciations can sound like a foreign
language. The work we pronounce as SKELe-tal is pronounced in some other Englishspeaking countries as ske-LE-tal.
2007年9月10日
Silent letters and Unusual
pronunciations

A silent letter or unusual pronunciation can be
a problem, especially if it appears at the start
of a word.
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Letters Pronunciation
Example
Definition of example
ch
k
chemical
Pertaining to chemistry
dys
dis
eu
u
dystroph
y
euphoria
gn
n
gnathic
Poor nourishment of
tissue
Exaggerated feeling of
well-being
Pertaining to the jaw
ph
f
pharmacy A drug dispensary
2007年9月10日
Letters Pronunciation Example
Definition of example
pn
n
pneumonia inflammation of lungs
ps
s
pseudo-
false
pt
t
ptosis
dropping
rh
r
rheumatic
pertaining to
rheumatism
x
z
xiphoid
pertaining to cartilage
attached to the sternum
2007年9月10日
Case Study

While walking home from the train station,
M.A., a 72-year-old woman with osteoporosis,
tripped over a broken curb and fell. In the
emergency department, she was assessed for
severe pain, swelling, and bruising of her left
thigh. A radiograph showed a displaced left
femoral neck fracture. M.A. was prepared for
surgery and given a preoperative injection of
an analgesic to relieve her pain.
2007年9月10日

Intraoperatively, she was given spinal
anesthesia and positioned on an operating
room table, with her left hip elevated on a
small pillow, intravenous antibiotics were
given before the incision. Her left hip was
repaired with a bipolar hemiarthroplasty.
Postoperative care included maintaining the
left hip in abduction, blood and fluid
replacement, physical therapy, and vigilance
for development of avascular necrosis and
possible dislocation.
2007年9月10日
2007年9月10日