Chapter 5
Building
Medical Terms with Prefixes
Teresa England-Lewis
Lesson 5.1
Learning Goals
1. Use prefixes to build and analyze
terms.
2. Match prefixes pertaining to numbers
or quantities with their meanings or
write their meanings.
3. Recognize prefixes pertaining to
position or direction in medical terms
and write their meanings.
ASSESSMENT QUESTION
What are some prefixes
with opposite meanings?
PREFIXES OF NUMBER

mono-, uni-

bi-, di-

tri-

quad- quadri-

tetra
one
two
three
four
METRIC
PREFIXES
Centi- one hundredth
Milli- one thousandth
Centigrade or degrees Celsius
PREFIX OF NUMBER EXERCISE
Build a word using

mono- ____________________

uni- ____________________

bi-____________________

di-____________________
PREFIX OF NUMBER EXERCISE
Construct a word using

tri-___________________

quad- ___________________

quadri-___________________
Prefixes of Quantity

diplo-

hemi-, semi-

multi-, poly-

pan-

primi-
pairs, double
half
many
all
first
Semipermeable Membrane
Polydactyly, Syndactyly
A Courtesy Dr. Christine L. Williams, New York Medical College.
B from Zitelli BJ, Davis HW: Atlas of pediatric physical diagnosis, ed 5, St Louis, 2007, Mosby.
ASSESSMENT EXERCISE

Analyze the meaning of

diplococci

hemiplegia

polyuria

pandemic
Quantity Prefixes
 Nulli-
None
 Super-, ultra-
excessive
Ultra-
Courtesy Department of Dermatology, College of Medicine, Houston, TX.
OPPOSITES OF QUANTITY
Hyper-
Above normal
Below normal
Hypo-
CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS
If hypertrophy is overdevelopment
what is the term for underdeveloped?
without development?
Painful development?
PREFIXES OF DIRECTION/position
ab- away from
ad- towards
super- above
sub- below
Assessment Exercise
Name terms using

ab- __________________

ad- __________________

supra- __________________

sub- __________________
CIRCULAR PREFIXES

peri-

circum-
around
Abduction, Adduction &
Circumduction
PREFIXES OF POSITION

ex-, exo-, ecto-

out, outer

en-, end-, endo-

in, inner

medio-, mesio-

middle

intra-

within

inter-

between
PREFIXES OF LAYERS
ecto- outer
inter- between
meso- middle
endo- inner
Layers of the Skin
Prefixes of Position or Direction
 inter-
between
 intra-
within
 meso-, mid-, medio-
middle
 para-
near, beside,
abnormal
 per-
through or by
From Herlihy B, Maebius NK: The human body in health and illness, ed 3, Philadelphia, 2007, Saunders.
TIME OR PLACE ANTONYMS

ante- before

post- after

super- above


pre- before

retro- behind

infra- below

sub- below
sub- below
LINEAR PREFIXES
through

per-

dia-
PREFIX OF MOTION
across

trans-
TRANS-
-
From Sanders MJ: Mosby’s paramedic textbook, ed 3, St Louis, 2005, Mosby.
ASSESSMENT EXERCISE
Construct words using

trans-_________________

dia- _________________

per- _________________
RELATIONSHIP PREFIXES
joined together

Sym-, syn-
Prefix of amounts

iso-
=
equal
Assessment Exercise

Name words using

sym- ________________

syn- ________________

iso-
________________
Lesson 5.2
Learning Goals
4. Use a- or an- correctly to write terms of
negation.
5. Match other prefixes used in medical terms
with their meanings or write their meanings.
6. Spell medical terms accurately.
7. Write the meanings of the abbreviations.
8. Pronounce medical terms correctly.
Prefixes of Negation
a-, an-
no, not or without
in-
not or inside
Rule for adding a- versus an-
Use a- before a consonant
Use an- before a vowel or the letter h
Prefix of size antonyms

macro- abnormally

micro- abnormally small
large
Assessment Question
If macrocephaly is
an abnormally large head
what is
an abnormally small head?
Prefixes: Time and Size
macro-, mega-, megalo- large/great
micro- small
ante-, pre-, propost- after
before
From Moore KL, Persaud TVN: The developing human: clinically oriented embryology, ed 7, Philadelphia, 2003, Saunders.
Prefixes: Description
 ana-
upward or again
 anti-, contra-
against
 brady-
slow
 tachy-
fast
Other Prefixes: Description
dys-
bad or difficult
mal- bad
eu- good or normal
pro-
favoring or supporting
Other Prefixes
Both dys- and mal- can mean
bad.
Pro- can mean before or
favoring/supporting.
In-, en-, end-, and endo- can all
mean inside.
Caution
Be careful with these!
in- (not) versus in- (inside)
infra- (under) versus intra- (within)
Quick Quiz!
What is the difference between ectoand endo-?
A. Ecto- means inside and endo- means
outside.
B. Ecto- means between and endo- means
within.
C. Ecto- means outside and endo- means
between.
D. Ecto- means outside and endo- means
inside.
Opposites
ab- versus
ad-
ante-, pre-
versus
post-
en-, endendo-
versus
ecto-,exoextra
versus
hypo-
hyper-
ANTONYMS
macro-
versus
micro-
nulli-
versus
pan-
super-, supra- versus
,
hypo- infrasub-
Assignments



Complete Chapter 6:1
Practice all exercises on
EVOLVE
Study for Chapter 5 Test on
_________