Prefixes, Suffixes, and Roots
Word Roots – Anatomy
Meaning
Translation
Word Root
Aden/o
Gland
Angi/o
Blood vessel
Arteri/o
Artery
Arthr/o
Joint
Arther/o
Fatty substance, plaque
Bil/i
Bile
Bucc/o
Cheek
Carcin/o
Cancer
Cardi/o
Heart
Cerebr/o
Cerebrum
Cheil/o
Lip
Chol/o
Bile, gall
Cholangi/o
Bile duct
Cholecyst/o
Gallbladder
Choledoch/o
Common bile duct
Cor/o, coron/o
Heart
Col/o
Colon
Cyst/o
Bladder
Dent/o
Tooth
Derm/o
Skin
Encephal/o
Brain
Enter/o
Intestines
Erythr/o
Red
Esophag/o
Esophagus
Gastr/o
Stomach
Gingiv/o
Gums
Glomerul/o
Glomerulus
Gloss/o
Tongue
Gynec/o
Female
Hem/o
Blood
Hemangi/o
Blood vessel
Hemat/o
Blood
Hepat/o
Liver
Hyster/o
Uterus
Ile/o
Ileum/of small intestine
Labi/o
Lip
Lith/o
Stone
Lingu/o
Tongue
Nephr/o
Kidney
Neur/o
Nerve
Odont/o
Tooth
Onc/o
Tumor
Ophthalm/o
Eye
Or/o
Mouth
Oste/o
Bone
Ot/o
Ear
Oxy/o
Oxygen
Pancreat/o
Pancreas
Path/o
Disease
Ped/o
Child
Pharyng/o
Pharynx
Proct/o
Rectum
Rect/o
Rectum
Ren/o
Kidney
Rhin/o
Nose
Sial/o
Saliva, salivary gland
Sigmoid/o
Sigmoid colon
Sphygm/o
Pulse
Splen/o
Spleen
Thromb/o
Clot
Trache/o
Trachea
Ur/o
Urinary tract
Urethr/o
Urethra
Vas/o
Vessel
Word Roots – Body Structure
Meaning
Translation
Word
Root
Abdomin/o
Abdomen
Anter/o
Front
Blast/o
Primitive cell
Cephal/o
Head
Cervic/o
Neck
Chrondr/o
Cartilage
Coccyg/o
Coccyx
Crani/o
Skull
Cyt/o
Cell
Dors/o
Back of body
Epithele/o
Epithelium
Hist/o
Tissue
Ili/o
Ilium (pelvic bone)
Later/o
Side
Lumb/o
Lower Back
Medi/o
Middle
Morph/o
Shape
My/o
Muscle
Pelv/o
Hip, pelvic
Pyel/o
Renal (kidney) pelvis
Poster/o
Back
Proxim/o
Near
Sacr/o
Sacrum
Spin/o
Spine, backbone
Steth/o
Chest
System/o
System
Thorax/o
Chest
Thromb/o
Clot
Umbilic/o
Naval
Ventr/o
Belly
Viscer/o
Internal organ
Prefixes
Prefix
Meaning
a-
Without, away from
Ab-
Away from, negative, absent
Ad-
Toward, in the direction
Agglutin/o
Clumping
Ambi-
Both, both sides
An-
Without
Ante-
Before, in front of
Anter/o-
Before, in front of
Anti-
Against
Ar-
Without
Auto-
Self
Bi-
Two
Brady-
Slow
Circum-
Around
Contra-
Against
Dextr/o-
To the right of
Dia-
Through, across
Translation
Diplo-
Double
Dors/o
Back
Dys-
Painful, difficult
Ec-
Out, out from
Endo-
Within
Epi-
Upon
Ex-
Out from
Exo-
Out
Hemi-
Half
Heter/o-
Different
Homo-
Same
Hydro-
Water
Hyper-
Over, above
Hypo-
Under, below
Im-
Not
In-
Not, into
Infra-
Under, beneath, below
Inter-
Among, between
Intra-
Within, inside
Later/o-
Side
Leuk/o-
White
Macr/o-
Large
Mal-
Bad, ill
Medi-
Middle
Mes/o-
Middle
Micro-
Small
Mid-
Middle
Mon/o
One
Pan-
All
Peri-
Around
Phag/o
Eat, swallow
Poly-
Many, much
Post-
After
Poster/o-
After, behind
Pre-
Before, in front of
Pro-
Before, in front of
Pseudo-
False
Re-
Back
Retro-
After, behind
Sclero-
Hard
Semi-
Half
Sinistro-
Left
Sub-
Below, under
Super-
Above
Supra-
Above
Syn-
Together
Tachy-
Rapid, fast
Trans-
Through, across
Tri-
Three
Ultra-
Beyond, excess
Suffixes
Suffix
Meaning
-ac
Pertaining or relating to
-al
Pertaining or relating to
-algia
Pertaining to pain
-ar
Pertaining to
-ary
Pertaining to
-blast
Embryonic, primitive germ cell
-cele
Swelling, hernia
-centesis
Surgical puncture to remove
fluid
-cide
Kill
-cise
Cut
-cle
Small
-cyte
Cell
-dyne
Pain
-ectasis
Dilation
-ectomy
Surgical removal of
-ectopy
Displacement
-emia
Condition of the blood
-genic
Produced by
Translation
-globin
Protein
-gram
Record or picture (instrument
for recording)
-graph
Record or picture
-graphy
Recording a record or picture
-ia
Pertaining to
-iasis
Presence of
-ic
Pertaining to
-id
Condition of
-ion
Small
-itis
Inflammation
-ium
Small
-ize
Remove, take away
-lith
Stone
-lysis
Destruction
-lytic
Destruction
-malacia
Abnormal softening
-manometer
Instrument to measure pressure
-megaly
Enlargement or large
-oid
Resembling
-ology
Study of
-osis
Abnormal, increase
-ostomy
Surgically create an opening
-otomy
Cutting into
-parous
Bearing, giving birth
-pathy
disease
-penia
Few, decrease
-pexy
Fixation
-phage
Eat, swallow
-phasia
Speech
-philia
To have an attraction for
-phobia
Abnormal fear
-plasm
Formation or forming
-plasty
Surgical repair
-pnea
Breathing
-ptosis
Drooping, dropping of an organ
-rrhage
Excessive, abnormal flow
-rrhaphy
To stitch or suture
-rrhea
Discharge or flow
-rrhexis
Rupture
-scopy
To visualize (usually with
equipment)
-sis
State of
-spasm
Twitch, involuntary muscle
movement
-stalsis
Constriction, contraction
-stenosis
Abnormal narrowing or
stricture
-tension
Pressure
-trophy
Nourishment
-uria
Pertaining to the urine
Colors
Color
Latin
black
Nigr-
blue
Cyan(o)
gray/grey
Greek
Other
Melano-
Polio-
green
Vir-
pale
Pallid
purple
Purpur-(eo)-
Porphyr(o)-
red
Rub-/rubr-
Erythr(o)-/rhod(o)-
red-yellow
Chlor(o)-
Cirrh(o)-
white
Alb-
Leuc-/leuk-
yellow
Flav-
Xanth(o)-
color
Chroma(ato)-
Bluishgrey/grey
Glauc(o)-
Jaune (Fr)
Translation
Directional and Positional Terms
Term
Meaning
Abduction
To move away from the median or
middle line of the body. Example: The
arm is abducted from the body when it
is placed over the head.
Adduction
To move toward the median or middle
line of the body. Example: The
physical therapist adducted the lower
extremities by moving the legs
together.
Anterior or ventral Near or on the front of the body.
Example: The umbilicus, or naval, is
located on the anterior surface of the
body.
Apex
Tip or summit. Example: We hear the
apical pulse by listening with a
stethoscope over the apex of the heart.
Base
Bottom or lower part. Example: On
the x-ray a fracture was noted at the
base of the skull.
Deep
Away from the surface of the body or a
structure. An incision into an
abdominal organ is a deep incision.
Distal
Located away from the center of the
body or structure. Example: The ankle
is distal to the knee.
Inferior or caudal
Toward the feet or tail, away from the
surface of the body or below. Example:
The intestine is inferior to the heart.
Lateral
Refers to the side. Example: The
lateral wall of the right lung was
Translation
excised.
Medial
Refers to the middle or near the
middle of the body or the structure.
Example: The fracture is located on
the medial side of the fifth digit, or
finger, on the right hand.
Parietal
Refers to the wall of an organ or cavity.
Example: The parietal wall of the
stomach was resected, or removed, by
the surgeon.
Posterior or dorsal
Near or on the back. Example: The
posterior wall of the right kidney was
excised.
Prone
The body lying horizontally facing
downward; also refers to the hand or
foot with palm or foot facing down.
Example: The patient is placed in the
prone position for spinal surgery.
Proximal
Located near or closest to the center of
the body or structure. Example: In the
anatomical position the fingers are
proximal to the thumbs.
Superficial
Toward the surface of the body or a
structure. Example: The cut was
superficial.
Superior or
cephalic
Toward the head, toward the surface
of the body or above. Example: The
adrenal glands are superior to the
kidneys.
Supine
The body lying horizontally and facing
upward. Also refers to the hand or foot
with the palm or foot facing up.
Example: The patient is placed in the
supine position for abdominal surgery.
Quick Reference Guide – Specialties and Organs
Body System
Medical Specialty
Organs
Integumentary Dermatologist
Skin
Translation:
Sweat
gland
Sebaceous
glands
Hair
Nails
Musculoskeletal
Orthopedist
Translation:
Muscles
Tendons
Bones
Joints
Cartilage
Endocrine
Internist
Thyroid
Endocrinologist
Pituitary
Translation:
Testes
Ovaries
Adrenal
Pancreas
Pineal
Thymus
Cardiovascular Cardiologist
Heart
Translation:
Blood
Arteries
Translation
Veins
Lymphatic and Immunologist
Hematic
Spleen
Translation:
Lymph
White
blood cells
Respiratory
Thoracic surgeon
Nose
Allergist
Pharynx
Pulmonologist
Larynx
Translation:
Trachea
Lungs
Bronchial
tubes
Gastrointestinal
Gastroenterologist
Mouth
Proctologist
Pharynx
Translation:
Esophagus
Stomach
Small/Larg
e intestine
Liver
Gallbladde
r
Anus
Urinary
Translation:
Nephrologist
Kidneys
Urologist
Ureters
Bladder
Urethra
Reproductive
Gynecologist
Ovaries
Obstetrician
Uterus
Translation:
Vagina
Mammary
Testes
Prostate
Urethra
Anus
Nervous
Neurologist
Brain
Neurosurgeon
Spinal cord
Translation:
Special senses
Translation:
Nerves
Ophthalmologist
Eye
Otolaryngologist
Ear