Component 3 Unit 1 Lecture 2 Script
1. Slide 1
Understanding Medical Words, Part II:
In part II, we will cover prefixes, suffixes, word building and singular and plural
endings.
2. Slide 2
Prefix:
A Prefix is added to the beginning of a term. The prefix may provide additional
meaning such as the location of a organ, the number of parts or the time or
frequency. Examples of each include:
location of organ
inter- means between
number of parts
hemi- means half
time (frequency)
pre- means before
3. Slide 3
Examples of Prefixes:
Here are more examples of prefixes and their meanings:
ab-
away from
ante- before, forward
brady- slow
endo- within, inner
hyper- above, beyond
hypo- under, deficient
4. Slide 4
Examples of Prefixes:
Here are more examples of prefixes and their meanings:
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infra- beneath, below
inter- among, between
macro-
large
micro- small
peri- around
post- after, behind
pre-
before, in front of
5. Slide 5
Examples of Prefixes:
Here are more examples of prefixes and their meanings:
retro- backward, behind
sub-
below, under
super- above, excess
tachy- fast
trans- across, through
ultra- beyond, excess
6. Slide 6
Suffix:
A suffix is attached to the end of a term. The suffix may provide additional
meaning such as:
condition
-algia means pain
Disease
-itis means inflammation
procedure
-ectomy means removal of
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All medical terms must have a suffix. This is the only mandatory word part.
7. Slide 7
Examples of Suffixes:
Here are more examples of suffixes and their meanings:
-algia pain
-cise cut
-dynia pain, swelling
-ectasis
-itis
dilatation
inflammation
-logy study of
-lysis destruction
8. Slide 8
Examples of Suffixes:
Here are more examples of suffixes and their meanings:
-megaly
enlargement, large
-oma tumor
-osis
condition, usually abnormal
-pathy disease
-rrhea discharge, flow
-sclerosis
hardening
-stenosis
narrowing
-taxis movement
-trophy
growth
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9. Slide 9
Adjective Suffixes:
A suffix may be used to convert a word root into an adjective and a complete
word. Adjective suffixes typically mean pertaining to. This new word can then
be used to modify another word.
10. Slide 10
Adjective Suffix Example:
To state that a patient has an ulcer in his stomach:
gastr/o = stomach
-ic = pertaining to
gastric = pertaining to the stomach
gastric ulcer = ulcer found in the stomach
11. Slide 11
Procedures, Diagnosis and Surgery Suffixes
Some suffixes may refer to procedures, diagnoses and surgeries. Here are
some examples:
-centesis
surgical puncture to remove fluid
-ectomy
cut out, surgical removal
-gram recording or picture
-meter device for measuring
-ostomy
surgical opening
12. Slide 12
Procedures, Diagnosis and Surgery Suffixes
Here are more examples:
-otomy
cutting into
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-pexy surgical fixation
-plasty surgical reconstruction
-rrhaphy
suture
-scope
instrument for viewing
13. Slide 13
Word Building:
Word building is being able to put together the various parts to form a variety of
terms in order to convey the necessary information. Word building begins with
knowing the meaning of the various parts in order to select the correct ones.
Always remember the rules regarding the location of each word part.
14. Slide 14
Interpreting Medical Terms:
Remember this easy method when wanting to interpret and translate medical
terms. Let’s look at how we would translate echocardiogram.
divide the term into its word parts
echo / cardi/ o / gram
15. Slide 15
Interpreting Medical Terms:
2. Define each word part
echo = using ultrasonic waves
cardi = heartsmall intestine
o = combining vowel, no meaning
-gram = recording
3. Combine the meanings of the word parts
Recording of a heart test using ultrasonic waves
16. Slide 16
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Health IT Workforce Curriculum
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Singular and Plural Endings
Many medical terms come from Greek or Latin words. The rules for forming
plurals for these words are different from English. An example is the plural of
bacterium is bacteria, not bacteriums. If, however, the word is derived from
English, we would follow the English rules. An example is the plural of ventricle
is ventricles.
17. Slide 17
General Rules for Plurals:
Here are some examples of how to form plurals:
18. Slide 18
Abbreviations:
Abbreviations are commonly used throughout healthcare in order to save time.
Abbreviations can sometimes be confusing. If you worried about confusing
someone with the abbreviation, always spell the term out. Please remember not
to use your own personal abbreviations as others will be unfamiliar with them.
.
End of presentation
Component 3/Unit 1b
Health IT Workforce Curriculum
Version 1.0/Fall 2010
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