Root Words
Week #2
Av, avi
• Bird
• Aves, aviation
• Aves is the class of animals composed of birds.
Bio
• Life
• Biology, biochemistry
• Biology is the study of living things.
blast
• Germ, embryo
• Blastula, blastocyst
• The blastula is an early stage of embryonic
development.
bol
• Clod
• Bolus, metabolism
• A bolus is a clod of food in the digestive tract.
brachi
• Arm
• Biceps brachii
• The biceps brachii is a two-headed muscle of
the arm.
calor
• Heat
• Calorie
• A calorie is a unit of heat energy.
Cap, cep
• Head
• Triceps, decapitate
• The triceps is a muscle with three heads.
cardi
• Heart
• Pericardium, cardiac arrest
• The pericardium is the sac around the heart.
carp
• Wrist
• Carpal bones
• The wrist is made up of carpal bones.
Cep, cept
• Take
• Receptor, forceps
• Receptors take and transmit information on
the environment.
cephal
• Head, brain
• Electroencephalogram
• An electroencephalogram is a record of brain
wave activity.
chlor
• Green
• Chlorophyll
• Chlorophyll is the green pigment in plant cells.
chond
• Cartilage, granular
• Mitochondria, condroblast
• Mitochondria appear as granular objects in
the cell.
chord
• A chord, string
• Chordata, notochord
• Chordata is the phylum of animals with dorsal
nerve chords.
chrom
• Color
• Chromosome, monochrome
• Chromosomes appear as colorful bodies when
stained.
Cide, cis
• To kill, to cut
• Pesticide, Incision
• Pesticides are used to kill agricultural pests.
cili
• A small hair
• Ciliary muscle, cilia
• Ciliary muscles are small hairlike muscles of
the eye.
circ
• Ring, around
• Circulatory System, Circa
• The circulatory system conducts blood around
the body.
Co, com
• Together
• Community, Communicate
• A community is a group of organisms that live
together in the same environment.
coel
• Hollow
• Coelenterate, blastocoel
• Coelenterates have hollow bodies.