Medical Terminology
Fundamentals
Medical Terminology
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The study of terms that are used in the art &
science of medicine.
It is the universal language of medicine.
It is a functional language, which means that
health care workers use this language to
communicate among all health careers.
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Medical Terminology is a new set of vocabulary
words introduced into “your world”
Medical Terminology Fundamentals
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Medical Terminology is a specialized
language with origins arising from the Greek
influence on medicine.
Hippocrates was a Greek physician whose
role in medicine is still recognized today.
Hippocrates is called “The Father of
Medicine.”
Medical Terminology Fundamentals
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Today, health care careers still use many of
the terms that date back to Hippocrates in
460 to 377 BC.
Many of the terms used have their origins in
ancient Greek and Latin.
Learning the English translation of these
terms is the fundamentals of word structure
used in present day medical terminology.
Medical Terminology Fundamentals
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The fundamental elements in medical
terminology are the component parts used to
build medical words
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Word structure is a combination of a prefix,
root, and suffix
Medical Terminology Fundamentals
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Pronunciation and spelling do count>>in
doubt use a medical dictionary or internet.
One letter can change the meaning of the
word.
Knowing the meaning of the word parts often
makes it possible to figure out the definition of
unfamiliar words
Medical Terminology Fundamentals
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Some word parts/blocks have more than one
meaning so it will be necessary to determine
the context in which the term is being used
Best to begin with body system as reference
Medical Terminology
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The fundamental elements in med term are
the component parts used to build medical
words
Word structure is a combination of a prefix,
root, and suffix
Abbreviations>>shortening a word or
phrase into letters …bid (twice daily)
Acronyms>> letters of words in a compound
term…CDC, LASIK, ER