Medical
Terminology
NURS 1103 or HLSC 2613
Learning Terminology
2
INTRODUCTION TO
MEDICAL LANGUAGE
(ML)
Dr. Mohammed Qasim
Baghdad College of Medicine
Main Objective:
Learn Medical Terminology
 New
students to Medical
Terminology often bewildered
by strange spelling and
pronunciation.
 Approximately
75% of Medical
Terms are based on either
Greek or Latin
Medical Terminology
Mispronunciations
 Artery
- The study of fine paintings.
 Benign - What you are after you be eight.
 Coma - A punctuation mark.
 Morbid - A higher offer.
 Urine - opposite of you’re out.
 Tablet - A small table.
Course Objectives
Apply basic principles of medical word
building.
 Correctly pronounce medical terms.
 Define common medical terms.
 Relate common medical terms to human
anatomy and physiology; common disease
states, pharmacological categories and
diagnostic tests.
 Identify the medical terminology in medical
record reports.

A Busy Course!
Are you feeling like
a lot of information
is about to come
your way?
 The answer is

YES.
Now, lets begin
Lecture 1
Basic Elements of Medical Word
Medical Dictionary Use
Look Up Unfamiliar Terms
Building Medical Terms
Word Root
Prefix
Suffix
Combining forms
10
Forming Medical Terms
Medical Term
Word root
Prefix
Suffix
Combining forms
11
Word Roots (WR)
 Usually
derived form Greek or Latin
 Frequently indicates a body part
 Most medical terms have one or more
word roots
Examples of Word Roods
Greek Word
Word Root
Kardia (heart)
Cardi
Gaster (stomach) Gastr
Hepar (liver)
Hepat
Nephros (kidney) Nephr
Osteon (bone)
oste
Combining Forms (CF)
 Combining
Form (CF) is a Word Root
(WR) plus a vowel, usually an “o”
 Usually indicates a body part
Combining Forms Examples
 Cardi/
+ o = cardi/o
 gastr/ + o = gastr/o
 hepat/ + o = hepat/o
 nephr/ + o = nephr/o
 oste/ + o = oste/o
heart
stomach
liver
kidney
bone
Suffixes
 Word
Ending
 Suffix usually indicates a procedure,
condition, disease, or part of speech
 Usually derived from Greek or Latin
Examples of Suffix
 Arthr/o-centesis
joint
 throac/o
chest
 gastr/o
puncture
Arthrocentesis
puncture of a joint
-tomy
incision
Thoracotomy
incision of the chest
-megaly
Gastromegaly
stomach enlargement enlargement of the
stomach
Prefixes
 Word
element located at the beginning
of a word
 Changes the meaning of the word
 Usually indicates a number, time,
position, direction, color, or sense of
negation
Examples of Prefix
 A-
mast
without breast
-ia
condition
 hyper-
-ia
condition
therm
excessive heat
 intra-
in
muscul
muscle
-ar
relating to
Basic Rule One
A
WR (word root) is used before a
suffix that begins with a vowel.
Scler/ + osis = sclerosis
Basic Rule Two
A
combining vowel is used to link a
WR to a suffix that begins with a
consonant and to link a WR to another
WR to form a compound word
colon/o + scope = colonscope
osteo/ o/ chondr/ itis =
osteochondritis
Defining Medical Words
 First,
define the suffix or ending
 Second, define the prefix, or beginning
 Third, define the middle
Word Roots and Combining Forms
[CYT(O)]
Combining Forms
Meaning
cyt(o)
cell
dextr(o)
right
dips(o)
thirst
dors(o)
back
erythr(o)
red
esthesio
sensation,
perception
23
Word Roots and Combining Forms
Combining Forms
Meaning
galact(o)
milk
gluco
glucose
gero
old age
glyco
sugars
gyn(o)
women
home(o)
same
kin(o)
movement
24
Combining Forms
Meaning
kinesi(o)
motion
lact(o)
milk
leuk(o)
white
lith(o)
stone
mio
smaller; less
narco
sleep; numbness
necro
death; dying
25
Word Roots and Combining Forms
[NOCT(O)]
Combining Forms
Meaning
noct(i)
night
oncho
tumor
path(o)
disease
phago
eating
phon(o)
sound; voice
pseud(o)
false
pyo
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pus
Word Roots and Combining Forms
[PYRO] Meaning
Combining Forms
pyro
fever
salping(o)
tube
schiz(o)
split; division
scler(o)
hardening
scolio
crooked; bent
somato
body
spiro
breath; breathe
27
Word Roots and Combining Forms
[TEL(O)]
Combining Forms
Meaning
tel(o)
distant; end; complete
tono
tension; pressure
tropho
food; nutrition
xanth(o)
yellow
xeno
stranger
Xer(o)
dry
28
Prefixes
Prefix
•Prefixes are attached to the beginning of words.
•Modifies the meaning of the word or word root.
•Indicates size, quantity, position of, and location.
29
Prefix
30
Prefixes (a–aut)
Meaning
a
without
ab
away from
ana
up, toward
ante
before
anti
against
aut(0)
self
Prefix
31
Prefixes (brachy–hypo)
Meaning
brachy
short
brady
slow
contra
against
dys
abnormal; difficult
hemi
half
hyper
above normal
hypo
below normal
Prefix
32
Prefixes (inter–peri)
Meaning
inter
between
iso
equal; same
mal
bad; inadequate
meta
after
micr(o)
small
olig(o)
few; little; scanty
peri
around; about; near
Prefix
Prefixes (pro–un)
Meaning
pro
before; forward
re
again; backward
retro
behind; backward
semi
half
supra
above; over
tachy
fast
un
not
33
Suffixes
Prefix
•Attaches to the end of the word and carries the underlying
meaning of the word.
•Suffixes can also be combining forms.
34
Suffix
Suffixes (ad–crine)
Meaning
-ad
toward
-algia
pain
-asthenia
weakness
-blast
immature; forming
-cidal
destroying; killing
-clast
breaking
-crine
secreting
35
Suffix
Suffixes (crit–ectomy)
Meaning
-crit
separate
-cyte
cell
-cytosis
condition of cells
-derma
skin
-dynia
pain
-ectasis
expanding; dilating
-ectomy
36
removal of
Suffix
Suffixes (emesis–graphy)
Meaning
-emesis
vomiting
-emia
blood
-esthesia
sensation
-globin
protein
-gram
a recording
-graph
recording instrument
-graphy
process of recording
37
Suffix
Suffixes (ic–malacia)
Meaning
-ic
pertaining to
-ism
condition; disease
-itis
inflammation
-kinesia
movement
-logist
one who practices
-lysis
destruction of
-malacia
softening
38
Suffix
Suffixes (mania-pathy)
Meaning
-mania
obsession
-megaly
enlargement
-oid
like; resembling
-opia
vision
-ostomy
opening
-para
bearing
-pathy
disease
39
Suffix
Suffixes (penia-phrenia)
Meaning
-penia
deficiency
-pepsia
digestion
-pexy
fixation
-phage
eating; devouring
-phobia
fear
-phonia
sound
-phrenia
40
of the mind
Suffix
Suffixes (phylaxis-rrhaphy)
Meaning
-phylaxis
protection
-plasty
surgical repair
-plegia
paralysis
-pnea
breath
-ptosis
falling down; drooping
-rrhagia
heavy discharge
-rrhaphy
41
surgical suturing
Suffix
Suffixes (rrhexis-tropia)
Meaning
-rrhexis
rupture
-spasm
contraction
-stasis
stopping; constant
-stenosis
narrowing
-tomy
cutting operation
-trophy
nutrition
-tropia
42
turning
Rules
•Add s to words ending in any vowel or
consonant except s,x,z, or y (ex. joint- joints)
•Add es to words ending in s,x, or z (ex. reflex reflexes)
43
Rules Cont’d
•Remove x and add `ces to Latin words
ending in x (ex. appendix - appendices)
•Remove the `y and add `ies to words ending
in `y preceded by a consonant (ex.
mastectomy- mastectomies)
44
Rules Cont’d
•When an ending `y is preceded by a vowel,
the usual plural suffix is `s (ex. boy - boys)
•Add `e to Latin terms ending in a (ex. lamina laminae)
45
Rules Cont’d
•Remove `us and add `i to Latin words
ending in us (ex. bacillus- bacilli)
•Change `sis to `ses in Greek words ending in
sis (ex. psychosis - psychoses)
46
Rules Cont’d
•Remove `on from and add `a to Greek words
ending in `on (ex. criterion - criteria)
•Remove `um from and add `a to Latin words
ending in um (ex. diverticulum - diverticula)
47
Latin
Greek
Singular Plural
Singular Plural
•fossa
fossae
•neurosis neuroses
•datum
data
•ganglion ganglia
•radix
radices
•calyx
calyces
48