Foundation year
OBJECTIVES
Are to:
1. Explain the functions of the respiratory system.
2. Label a diagram of the respiratory system.
3. Identify and use the roots pertaining to the respiratory system.
4. Describe the major disorders of the respiratory system.
5. Interpret abbreviations used in referring to the respiratory
system.
6. Define medical terms used in reference to the respiratory
system.
7. Analyze case studies pertaining to diseases that affect
respiration.
1. Lung (n) one of two organs of respiration in the
body into which air is sucked when a person
breathes. The combining form pneumon/o means
the lungs and air. Pulm/o and pulmon/o are
additional combining forms which means lung.
Pulmonary – adj.
2. Pneumonia (n) (new-moh-nia) lung inflammation caused by
bacterial or viral infection, in which the air sacs fill with pus and may
become solid. Inflammation may affect both lungs
3. Pneumothorax (n) the presence of air or gas in the cavity
between the lungs and the chest wall, causing collapse of the lung.
4. Bronchus (n) air passage
leading from the trachea
into the lungs.
Bronchial – adj.
bronchi – plural.
5. Bronchitis (n) (brong-ky-tis) inflammation of the
mucous membrane in the bronchial tubes. It typically
causes bronchospasm and coughing.
.The combining form bronch/o means bronchus.
6. Bronchiectasis (n) (bronk-i-ekta-sis) abnormal
widening of the bronchi or their branches, causing a risk
of infection.
. The suffix –ectasis means dilatation or stretching.
7. Bronchodilator (n) a drug which expands the opening of
the passage into the lung. The opposite is
bronchoconstrictor.
8. Trachea (n) (tray-kia) means the main air passage
which runs from the larynx to the bronchi, also
known as the wind pipe.
Tracheal – adj.
trache/o – combining form.
9. Tracheostomy (n): a surgical operation to make a hole
through the throat into the wind pipe to allow the
patient to breath.
10. Larynx (n) the hollow muscular organ forming an air
passage to the lungs and holding the vocal cords in
humans and other mammals; the voice box
Laryngeal – adj.
laryngitis – noun (inflammation of the larynx).
11. Laryngoscopy (n) means visual examination of the
larynx.
12. Nose (n) an organ through which a person breathes
and smells. The combining forms rhin/o and nas/o both
mean nose.
Nasal- adj.
13. Rhinoplasty (n) means surgical repair of the nose.
14. rhinitis: (n)inflammation of the mucus membrane in
the nose.
15.rhinorrhea (n): watery discharge from the nose. The
suffix -rrhea means flow or discharge.
16. Diaphragm (n) ( dy-a-fram) means the muscle
separating the chest and abdomen. The combining
form phren/o means diaphragm
Diaphragmatic – adj.
17. Sinus (n) (sy-nus) means a cavity inside the body
including cavities inside the head behind cheekbone,
forehead and nose. The combining form sinus/o means
sinus or cavity.
18. sinusitis (n) (sy-nus-I-tis) inflammation of the
sinuses.
19. Thoracic (adj) means pertaining to the thorax.
The combining forms thorac/o , steth/o and pect/o
all mean chest
20. Thoracocentesis is a procedure to remove
excess fluid in the space between the lungs and the
chest wall. This space is called the pleural space..
21. Costal (adj) (kost’l) referring to
the ribs.
22. Stethoscope(n): means an
instrument with two earpieces used
for listening to the chest sounds.
23. Anoxia (n) (an-oks-ia) lack of oxygen in body tissue. The
combining forms ox/o, ox/i and ox/y all mean oxygen.
24. Hypopnea (n) (hy-poh-nee-a) means abnormal
decrease in the rate of breathing.
25. Apnea (n) (ap-nee-a) means the absence of
spontaneous breathing or respiration. The prefix ameans without. The suffix –pnoea means breathing.
26. Asthma (n) (ass-ma) means narrowing of
the bronchial tubes, where the muscle go to
spasm and the patient has difficulty in breathing.
Asthmatic – adj.
27. Cyanosis (n) (sy-a-noh-sis) means bluish
discoloration of the skin or mucous membranes. Caused
by a lack of a adequate oxygen. Cyan/o means blue.
Cyanosed – verb.
Cyanotic – adj.
28. Dysphonia (n) (dis-foh-nia)
means any voice impairment.
The combining form phon /o
means voice or sound.
29. Emphysema (n) means air
in the tissues.
30. Haemothorax (n) means accumulation of blood in the
pleural cavity. The combining form haem/o means blood. The
root word thorax means chest.
31. to respire (v) means breath deeply.
respiration – noun
respiratory – adj
32. to intubate (v)means to insert a tube into any
organ or part of the body.
Intubation – noun.
33. Aspiration (n) (ass-per-ay-shon) means:
(i) Removing fluids from a cavity in the
body.
(ii) inhaling foreign materials e.g. vomited
stomach contents into the lung.
Aspirate – verb.
Aspirator – noun ( the instrument that suck
fluid out of a cavity)
34. Oedema (n) (ee-de-ma) an excessive accumulation
of liquid in body tissues.
35. Spirometer (n) an instrument for measuring
the volume of air taken in and out of the lungs.
• 36. sputum (n) (spew-tum) mucus found in an
inflamed nose, throat or lung and coughed up
by the patient, also known as phlegm
• 37. septum (n) means a wall between two
parts of an organ. The combining form is
sept/o.
Septal – adj.