Health care workers
need to know many
medical terms in
order to do their jobs
well.
Medical Terminology
Knowledge
 Constructed
There are 4
categories of
medical
terms:
terms
 Eponyms
 Abbreviations
 Acronyms
TAKE THIS DOWN IN
YOUR NOTES, PLEASE!
Medical terms made
up of several
distinct parts.
Medical Terms
named after the
people who
discovered a
disease or scientific
process.
Example: “Pasteurization” is
an Eponym named after the
scientist Louis Pasteur.
Short versions of
longer words.
For example:
Histo is the short
version of the
word:
Histology ,
which means the
“study of tissues”
Another example:
Stat is the short
version of the
word:
Statim,
which is a Latin
word that means
“immediately”
Words created from
the first letter of
each word found in a
group of words.
For example: “SOB” stands
for:
“Short Of Breath.”

Constructed terms

Abbreviations

Eponyms

Acronyms
The most prevalent type of
medical terms
Words made up of
several parts. . .
Biology
The first part is:
Bio-
The second part is:
-logy
Bio + logy =
Biology
Bio- means: Life, Living Things
-logy means: (the) Study of
How would you define:
“Biology” from its parts?
“The study of Life and Living things”
This means we are actually taking apart
words, defining the meaning of the
individual parts, and building a whole
definition based on the meanings of the
parts.

Word parts can include:
 Prefixes
 Word Roots
 Suffixes
 Combining Vowels

What do we call
medical terms that are
built by connecting
word parts/word
elements?

Constructed Terms

What word parts/word
elements are typically
used to build
constructed terms?




Word Roots
Prefixes
Suffixes
Combining vowels
Let’s look at another constructed medical term,
“Physiology”.
Physi/o/logy =
Physi = nature (word root)
-logy = the study of (suffix)
Defined as: The study of nature

Did you notice in the
last word, physiology,
that there is a vowel–
“o”—that stands alone?

This is called the
combining vowel.
Word root =
Physi
Suffix =
-logy
Physi =
Nature
-logy =
(the) study of
So, in the word physiology, how does the
vowel— “o”– function? It isn’t part of the
word root or the suffix.
Remember:
Physi: (word root) = “Nature”
-logy: (suffix) = “the study of”
What about the “o”? Why is the “o” even there?

The vowel– “o”–
functions as a
connector between
the word root,
Physi, and the
suffix, -logy.

We need to add the
vowel “o” because
the suffix—logy,
begins with a
consonant letter,
“L.”





To review, medical terms that are constructed
from parts may include:
Word Roots
Prefixes
Suffixes
One or more Combining Vowels (usually an
“o” or an “i”
Let’s learn about each of
these things
separately.
First:

Word Roots.


The Word Root is the basic foundation of
a constructed medical term
It usually tells about a body part/system
CARDI
=
HEART
The meaning of “cardi” will never change!
HEART
But it isn’t a complete word. We need to add
more parts to make it more meaningful.
We must add a suffix (ending). . . and. . .
…we might add a prefix, but not necessarily in
every case.
-LOGY
=
The study/knowledge of
+
. . .but something is still missing. . .
Because the suffix (-logy) begins with a
consonant letter- “L”- we need to put a
combining vowel between the suffix “logy”
and the word root “cardi”.
The best combining vowel to use here is:
Pronounced: Car-dee-ah-la-gee
So, “cardiology” must mean:
The study/knowledge of the heart
Is “logy” the only suffix that we can add
onto the word root “cardi”?
Of course not! There are quite a
number of different suffixes that can
be added to any word root, including
“cardi.”
?
No combining vowel is needed because the
suffix – “itis” already
begins with a vowel, “i”.
We can combine the “i” of “cardi” and the “i” from “itis”.
So, “Carditis.” which means: “inflammation of the heart.”
We’ve talked about:
Word Roots
Suffixes
Combining Vowels
Now let’s talk about
PREFIXES

Always attaches to the BEGINNING of a word
**IMPORTANT NOTE: The meaning of a
prefix always remains the same.
 Example: endo always means “within” no
matter what it attaches to.
Look at the words: endothelium,
endocarditis, endotracheal, endoscope
In all of these words, endo- always means
“within”.
*****IMPORTANT NOTE*****
Not all medical terms (words)
have prefixes!
Prefixes are added to the
beginning of some word
roots to provide more
specific meaning.
Again we combine the “i” from “cardi”
with the “i” from “itis”, and then add the
prefix “endo,” giving us: “Endocarditis”
“Carditis” means “Inflammation of the Heart.”
“Endocarditis” means “Inflammation within
the heart.”
◦ Prefixes are
placed where?
◦ Suffixes are
placed where?
◦ Combining vowels
are used when?



at the beginning of
words
at the end of word
roots
when the suffix begins
with a consonant letter