MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY
A language of its own
• Like a foreign language to most people.
• Made of terms that describe the __________________ in detail.
• Used to convey the greatest quantity of information, with the least
confusion and most precision, to any medical professional in the world.
• A single medical term can describe a __________, condition, or
____________________ that might otherwise take several words.
• Example: appendecotmy = surgical removal of the appendix
coxitis = inflammation of the hip joint
• The foundation of medical terms are __________ and__________.
• 75% of all medical terms are based on Latin or Greek terms.
• The Greeks were the founders of ___________________.
• Latin is the language of choice for medicine and science.
• The first medical dictionary appeared in the 1830s.
• Dorland’s Illustrated Medical Dictionary was first published in________.
• The rapid increase in medical and scientific knowledge necessitates a
new medical vocabulary to describe it.
• It is impossible to learn ALL medical terms, but it is possible to figure out
their meanings by ___________________ the word parts.
• By learning the meaning of the basic word parts, you will frequently be
able to interpret the meaning of a word.
• The science of the _____________ and development of words.
• Indicates the origin and historical development of a term.
• Helps you to find its origin and historical development.
• Helps you decipher words with Latin and Greek origins.
• EPONYMS
• Eponyms are_______________________________________.
• For example: Parkinson’s disease - named after the English physician
Dr. James Parkinson.
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• ACRONYMS
• Modern language terms that stand for____________________.
• ABBREVIATIONS
• _______________________ forms of words
• Used in many health care fields.
• Each medical facility has an approved abbreviations list.
• It is the ____________________________ of the healthcare workers
to learn the meanings of the abbreviations used in the facility in which
they work
• “When in doubt, spell it out!”
• BASIC WORD PARTS : ROOTS
• The glue that holds all medical terms together.
• The ____________ form around which the final word is formed.
• The _____________part of the word.
• The ___________________ of the word.
• Gives you a clue as to what you are dealing with.
• Specifies the____________ part.
• Combining vowel, usually “o” or “i”, joins the root with a prefix, suffix,
or another root.
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• BASIC WORD PARTS: COMBINING VOWELS
• Vowels are not used if the word root or suffix begins with a vowel.
• For example:
• Encephal (o) :____________ meaning brain
• Encephalitis : means inflammation of the brain
• “itis” is a _________________ meaning inflammation
• “itis” begins with an “i” so a combining vowel
is__________________________________.
• Another Example:
• Encephalogram
• “gram” is a _____________ meaning “tracing” or “record”
• “gram” does not start with a vowel
• Therefore, the combining vowel o is used
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YOU TRY IT….
Leuk/o : white
cytes : cells
Combine them to form the word meaning white blood cells
____________________________________________________________
• MORE PRACTICE:
•
• Cyan/o : blue
• -osis : condition
• Combine them to form the word meaning a blue discoloration of skin
caused by a lack of adequate oxygen.
____________________________________________________________
• BASIC WORD PARTS: PREFIXES
• Appear at the ______________________ of words
• Tells “how, why, where, when, how much, how many, position, direction,
time or status”
• Gives us what to expect in a word’s meaning
• serve to further define the _______________
• Refer to the prefix list
• BASIC WORD PARTS: SUFFIXES
• Appear at the _______________of words
• Tell us what is happening with a
_______________________________________
• Entail what is wrong with you or the procedure used to diagnose or fix it
• Refer to the list of suffixes
• COMBINING FORM
• The combination of a word root with the combining vowel.
• Example: cardi/o/gram
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ANALYSIS
Your goal is to learn the tools of word analysis
This will make the understanding of complex terminology easier
Learning to divide words into basic elements will help you to interpret
them.
•
basic elements: roots, prefixes, suffixes, combining vowels
• Example:
•
Gastroenterology
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Electrocardiogram
• RULES TO REMEMBER
• Read the meaning of medical terms from the suffix back to the first part
of the word
• Drop the combining vowel (usually o) before a suffix beginning with a
vowel - gastric not gastroic
• Retain the combining vowel between two roots in a word
• SPELLING IS ESSENTIAL
• Many words are pronounced alike but spelled differently and have
entirely different meanings
• For example:
•
_______________ is a part of the small intestine
•
_______________is a part of the pelvic or hip bone
• PRONUNCIATION IS ALSO IMPORTANT
• Words spelled correctly but pronounced incorrectly may be
misunderstood.
•
Example:
• Urethra (yoo-ree-thruh) is the urinary tract tube leading from the
urinary bladder to the external surface
• Ureter (yoo-ree-ter) is one of two tubes leading from the kidney to
the urinary bladder
• LEARNING A NEW LANGUAGE
• Learning medical words is similar to learning a new language
• The words sound strange and complicated at first.
• The medical language is logical in that each term, complex or simple,
can be broken down into its basic component parts.