Origin of Medical Terms
0 Most medical terms have Greek or Latin origins.
0 Most diagnostic and surgical terms have Greek origins
0 Most anatomical terms have Latin origins
0 Once you learn the basic medical term structure, and
memorize the most common term components, you can
get the meaning of most medical terms by defining their
parts
Analysis of Term Components
0 Most medical terms have 3 components:
0 Root
0 Suffix
0 Prefix
Analysis of Term Components
0 Root word
0 Foundation or subject of the word
0 Usually (but not always) indicates the involved body part.
0 Ex. cardi
means heart
0 A combining form is a root word with a vowel at the end so
that a suffix beginning with a consonant can be added.
0 When a combining form appears alone, it is shown with a slash (/)
between the root word and the combining vowel.
0 Ex. cardi/o
0 The combining form vowel is added to the end of a root word
under certain conditions to make the resulting medical term easier
to pronounce.
0 The letter “o” is the most commonly used combining vowel.
Analysis of Term Components
0 Suffix
0 Always found at the end of a medical term
0 Gives essential meaning to the root word by indicating the
condition, disorder, disease, or procedure
0 Ex. -itis
means inflammation
0 Prefix
0 Found at the beginning of a medical term
0 Not all medical terms contain a prefix
0 Only used when needed to further modify the root word
0 Ex. hyper-
means excessive
Word Part Combinations
0 Not all medical terms come in the form:
prefix/root word/suffix
0 Other possible word part combinations:
0 Root word/suffix
0 Root word/root word/suffix
0 Prefix/root word/root word/suffix
0 Prefix/prefix/root/suffix
0 Prefix/suffix
Rules for Forming Medical Terms
1.
A combining vowel is used to join root to root as well as
root to any suffix beginning with a consonant
electr + cardi + -gram
root
root
suffix
electr/o/cardi/o/gram
electrocardiogram
2. A combining vowel is NOT used before a suffix that
begins with a vowel
vas
root
+ -ectomy
suffix
vas/ectomy
vasectomy
Rules for Forming Medical Terms
3.
If the root ends in a vowel and the suffix begins with the same
vowel, drop the final vowel from the root and do not use a
combining vowel
cardi + -itis
root
suffix
card/itis
carditis
4. Most often, a combining vowel is inserted between two roots
even when the 2nd root begins with a vowel
cardi + esophag + -eal
root
root
suffix
cardi/o/esophag/eal
cardioesophageal
Review
A combining vowel is used when the suffix begins with a
consonant
2. A combining vowel is NOT used when the suffix begins
with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u)
3. A combining vowel is used when two or more root words
are joined.
1.
Defining Medical Terms through
Word Structure Analysis
0 You can usually define a term by interpreting the suffix
first, then the prefix (if present), then the succeeding root
or roots
peri- + cardi/o + -itis
pericarditis
peri/card/itis
around heart inflammation
2
3
1
Pericarditis inflammation around the heart
Spelling Medical Terms
0 Many medical terms sound similar, but are spelled
differently.
0 Ex: ilium (part of the hip bone)
ileum (part of the intestine)
**Because of this, context is key to spelling medical terms
correctly.**
0 Some words sound similar but are spelled differently AND
have different meaning, so be careful when pronouncing
medical terms
0 Ex: adduction (to draw toward)
abduction (to draw away from)
Guidelines to Looking Up the Spelling
of Unfamiliar Medical Terms
0 Many letters in medical terms are silent, and therefore often mistakenly
omitted when the term is spelled.
If is sounds like:
F
J
K
S
Z
It may begin with:
F
PH
G
J
C
CH
K
QU
C
PS
S
X
Z
Example:
flatus
phlegm
gingivitis
jaundice
crepitus
cholera
kyphosis
quadriplegia
cytology
psychology
serum
xeroderma
zygote