Health Care Informatics
Introduction to Medical Terminology
Objective: To give students an introduction to medical and computer terminology so that
they are better able to understand medical terminology and to compare medical and
computer related abbreviations.
Procedures: Over the course of 5 days, students will research the field of Healthcare
Informatics, review an introduction to medical terminology, and use the on-line medical
dictionary to define medical terms and abbreviations.
Day 1:
Review of PowerPoint C:\Documents and Settings\bartlel\My Documents\SPC
Course\Introduction to Healthcare Informatics.ppt and the students will go on-line to
learn about the career of Healthcare Informatics. Students will visit the Healthcare
Informatics website on the St. Petersburg College’s web page. After viewing the
Tutorial, students will write a paragraph that describes the field of healthcare informatics.
Day 2:
Students will identify and define the three types of word parts used in medical terms and
how they are used in forming medical terms.
Day 3:
Students will use the Taber’s on-line dictionary to define prefixes, root words, and
suffixes.
Day 4:
Students will take an assessment that will cover the field of health care informatics,
combining prefixes, suffixes, and root words.
Day 2
Word Parts
Assignment Guidelines
Review Chapter 1 in the text Introduction to Medical Terminology.
1. Define the following terms:
Word rootSuffixPrefixCombining vowel-
2. Describe the four rules used to combine vowels.
a.
b.
c.
d.
3. Review the steps to taking terms apart.
4. Break the following words up in to their prefix, suffix, and root word:
Cardiology
adenomalacia
Tonsillitis
pathologist
Erythrocytes
arthroplasty
Hypertension
craniectomy
Day 3
Medical Terminology Review
Using the Taber’s Medical Dictionary located in the provided PDA, define the following
prefixes, suffixes, root words, and medical terms.
Prefixes
DysHyperHypoPrePeriPostSuffixes
-osis
-algia
-dynia
-itis
-megaly
-stenosis
Root Words
Cyan/o
Erythr/o
Leuk/o
Melan/o
Poli/o
Medical Terms
Sign
Symptom
Syndrome
Diagnosis
Prognosis
Acute
Chronic
Medical Terminology
Assessment
Write a response to the following questions.
1. What is Healthcare Informatics?
2. Why is Healthcare Informatics an “up and coming” career field?
3. What are the requirements to be admitted into the Healthcare Informatics program at
SPC?
4. What type of person would be best suited for a career in Healthcare Informatics?
5. Discuss why it is important for a person who is studying Healthcare Informatics to
know medical terminology.
Break the medical terms into its word parts.
6. hepatomegaly
7. arteriogram
8. melanocyte
9. gastralgia
10. abdominocentesis