Medical Terminology Work sheet
Suffixes are word parts which
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Cannot stand alone
Are added to other word parts
Forms, nouns, adjectives or verbs
Have mostly abstract meanings which indicate a state, condition, quality, procedure or
process
Combining form
is a word part that has its own meaning
combines with prefixes and suffixes to form medical terms
forms the core part of a medical term
forms the basic meaning of a term
Suffixes
Meanings
Examples
-a
condition or state
-ia
condition or state
erythroderma (reddening of
the skin)
cardiac
-ant
agent or person
digestant
-etic
pertaining to
diuretic
-tic
pertaining to
antiseptic
-oma
tumour, disease
hemotoma
-osis
condition, state, process
stenosis , paralysis
-itis
inflammation
appendicitis
-iasis
condition, state
lithiasis
-ist
agent, person interested in
psychologist
-ma
abnormal or diseased
condition
state or condition
oedema
-y
therapy
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There are certain medical terms in which the last part consists of compound word endings (a
combination of one or more than one combining form and suffix).It is incorrect to use those
combinations as suffixes.
ec-/-TOM-/-y
tonsillectomy
excision of tonsils
-/-TOM-/-y
nephrotomy
surgical incision of kidney
-STOM-/y
nephrostomy
LY-/-tic
leukocytolytic
formation of a passage or
communication
pertaining to breaking down
-SCOP-/-y
rhinoscopy
process of visual examination
-SCOP-/-e
endoscope
Instrument to
STEN-/-osis
angiostenosis
narrowing of a vessel
RHAG-/-ia
haemorrhage
severe internal and external
discharge
-MEGAL-/-y
cardiomegaly
-PATH-/-y
cardiomyopathy
enlargement of the heart
muscles
Note: There are certain combining forms which appear at the end of the medical terms.
1. - CARDIA in
2. – STAT
in
3. –GEN
in
bradyCARDIA Slowness of the heart
haemoSTAT
arresting blood flow
pathoGEN
capable of producing a disease
Exercise 1:
Determine the meaning of the following medical terms by analyzing them into their meaningful
constituent parts.
1.1
haemophobia
HAEM-/-o-/-PHOB-/-ia
fear of blood
1.2
antineuralgic
anti-/-NEUR-/-ALG-/-ic
agent/substance relieving
nervous pain
hardening of the arteries
1.3
arteriosclerosis
L arteria artery GK skleros
ARTER-/-o-/-SCLER-/-osis
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1.4
encepalitis
GK Kephale head
1.5
hepatoma
hepat liver
1.6
encephalomeningitis
GK meninx
relationship to a membrane
especially to meninges
1.7
sclerosis
GK skleros hard
1.8 hepatolithectomy
GK liver lith(o) lithos stone
en-/-CEPHAL-/ -itis
1.9 megalodactyly
GK megas big, great
GK daktylos finger, toes
1.10 sarcoadenoma
GK sarx soft tissue
GK aden gland
MEGAL-/-o-/-DACTYL-/-y
HEPAT-/-oma
inflammation of inside the
head ( brain)
tumour in the liver
en-/-CEPHAL-/-o-/-MENIG-/itis
SCLER-/-osis
HEPAT-/-o-/-LITH-/-ectomy
SARC-/-o-/-ADEN-/-oma
surgical removal of the calculi
from the liver (a gall stone
within the liver called hepatic
calculus)
condition of having very
large
fingers or toes
fleshy tumour of the gland
Exercise 2:
From the list A identify all the medical terms having compound word endings and write in
column B. Write the meaning of these compound word endings in C.
A
B
2.1 colocolostomy
COL-/-o-/-COL-/-o-/-stomy
2.2 cystoscopy
CYST-/-o-/-scopy
2.3 tonsillectomy
TONSILL-/-ectomy
2.4 haemolysis
HAEM-/-o-/-LYS-/-sis
C
surgical opening between
two parts of the colon
examination of the bladder
surgical removal of the
tonsills
breaking down of the blood
cells
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Exercise 3:
Combine word (term) endings from the list given below with term parts in list A to compile
medical terms to match the meanings in list B.
- hepatitis; haemo; -megaly; -enterostomy;-sclerosis; -logist; -scopy
A
B
3.1 dermato___________________ logy
the study of skin diseases
3.2
gastro_________________ -scopy
3.3
entero_____________ - hepatitis
examination of the stomach and abdominal
cavity
Inflammation of the intestine and liver
3.4
hepatico_____________ enterostomy
surgically creating an opening between the
liver and intestine
Exercise 4
Match each of the combining forms in column A with its closest meaning in column B.
A
B
4.1 GLYCO
large
sugar
4.2 IMMUN(o)
diseases
immune
4.3 LACT-(o)
eating
milk
4.4 LATERO-
sugar
Lateral
4.5 LEUK-
milk
White
4.6 MACR(o)-
immune
Large
4.7 PATH(o)-
white
Diseases
4.8 PHAGO-
lateral
Eating
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Exercise 5
Choose compound word endings from the following list given below to complete the medical
terms.
-lysis; -tomy; -logist; -scopy; -stenosis, -scope; -oma; -diagnosis; -phobia; -plasty; -plegia; genetic; -tome; rrhagia; -ectomy
5.1 arteriostenosis
narrowing of the artery
5.2 colonoscope
instrument for examining the colon
5.3 dermatologist
a physician specializing in skin diseases
5.4 gastrectomy
surgical removal of part or all of the stomach
5.5 liposarcoma
malignant tumour
5.6 haemolysis
breaking down of red blood cells
5.7 colonorrhagia
haemorrhage from the colon
5.8 gastroscopy
examination of the stomach and abdominal
cavity
Exercise 6
6.1 In cases of bladder stones or the removal of other tissue from the bladder, a/an
__________ is performed by the insertion of a thin, lighted instrument through the urethra and
into the bladder.
Cystoscopy
6.2 Hepatology is the medical specialty involved in the study of the liver, gallbladder, biliary
tree, and pancreas and diseases such as viral hepatitis and alcohol-related conditions.
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6.3 Nephrology concerns the diagnosis and treatment of kidney diseases(, including
electrolyte disturbances and hypertension, and the care of those requiring renal replacement
therapy, including dialysis and renal transplant patient)s.
6.4 Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with cancer. A medical professional who
practices oncology is an oncologist.
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