Introduction to Health Science
MEDICAL
TERMINOLOGY
&
ANATOMICAL
POSITIONS
LANGUAGE OBJECTIVES
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Students will learn how medical terms are
put together using prefixes, suffixes and
rootwords.
Students will identify and draw the ways to
divide the body
Students will label the drawing used to
divide the body with directional terms.
A Whole New Language
• Health care workers use medical terminology
and abbreviations in their work every day.
• It is the professional language that helps
them communicate effectively and quickly.
Medical Abbreviations
• Shortened forms of words.
• An efficient way of communicating quickly and
concisely with other health care workers.
• Always use standard abbreviations.
• Never use an abbreviation if you are unsure
about its meaning.
Medical Abbreviations
• There is a growing trend toward eliminating periods
from most abbreviations.
• Work with your health care facility to learn their
policy regarding abbreviations and terminology.
• Sometimes abbreviations are used by themselves,
other times they are combined together or with
terms to give orders or directions.
EXAMPLE ABBREVIATION
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DNR
NPO
GSW
AIDS
Medical Symbols
• Some examples:
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> greater than
< less than
 higher, elevate, up
 lower, down
# pound or number
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‘ foot, minute
“ inch, second
° degree
F female
M male
Medical Terminology
• Medical terms from prefixes, suffixes, and
root words.
– Prefix – a syllable or word placed at the beginning
of a word.
– Suffix – a syllable or word placed at the end of a
word.
• The meaning of the suffix is usually placed first when
the word is defined.
• Word Root – main words or parts to which prefixes and
suffixes can be added.
EVERYDAY EXAMPLES
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Returned
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Prefix = re- Latin meaning again
Root word = turn
Suffix = -ed forming the past tense of a verb
Learning
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Root word = Learn meaning acquiring knowledge
Suffix = -ing expressing an action
THINK – PAIR - SHARE
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Think of two words that use a prefix, a suffix
and a rootword.
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Turn to your neighbor and share the two
words you thought of.
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I will ask each group to share one word with
the class
Medical Terminology
• When prefixes, suffixes, and/or word roots are
joined together, vowels are frequently added.
– Examples: a, e, i, ia, io, o, and u.
– Combining vowels make it easier to pronounce
the term.
• There is always at least one word
root, and sometimes more than one.
Creating Medical Terms
a.
b.
c.
d.
Create a word meaning “inflammation of a joint.”
arthr/o is the root word that means joint.
-itis is the suffix that means inflammation.
Since -itis begins with a vowel, no additional vowel
on the root word will be needed, in this case the
vowel will be dropped.
e. The medical word is arthritis.
Creating Med Terms
a. Create a word meaning “white (blood) cell”
b. leuko is the root word that means white.
c. -cyte is the suffix that means cell.
d. leuko is the stem with the vowel.
e. The medical word is leukocyte.
How to Use Medical Terminology
• A patients’ complaint of “pain in the
stomach” can mean many different things.
• After making a diagnosis, health care workers
must be able to understand exactly what the
problem is.
Using Medical Terminology
• What are some of the conditions (using
proper medical terminology) that could
correspond to a “pain in the stomach”?
How to Use Medical Terminology
Pain in the
Stomach?
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Gastritis
Hepatitis
Appendicitis
Pancreatitis
Gastralgia
Ileitis
Colitis
Diverticulitis
Pronunciation
• Hints:
– ch sounds like k.
• Chyme, Cholecystectomy, Chronic
– ps sounds like s.
• Psychiatric, Psychology, Psoriasis
– pn sounds like n.
• Pneumonia, Pneumatic
– c sounds like a soft s when it comes before e, i,
and y.
• Cycle, Cytoplasm, Centrifuge
Pronunciation
– g sounds like j when it comes before e, i, and y.
• Giant, Gestation, Generic, Gyration
– i sounds like “eye” when added to the end of a
word to form a plural.
• Glomeruli, Villi, Alveoli, Bacilli
Medical Terminology
• When you learn the common prefixes,
suffixes, and word roots, you have the tools to
combine hundreds of medical terms.
UNIT 1 ROOT WORDS
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Therm/o- heat
Cry/o- cold
Arthro-joint
Cardi/o- Heart
Gastr/o - Stomach
Crani/o- skull
Rhin/o- nose
Bi/o- life
Caud/o- tail
Cephal/o- head
Thorac/o – Thoracic
Umbilic/o – umbilicus/ navel
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Erythr/o- red
Leuk/o- white
Cyan/o- Blue
Melan/o- Black
Xanth/o – yellow
Chloro- green
Abdomino/o- abdomen
Cervic/o – neck
Inguin/o- groin
Pelv/i, or pelv/o – pelvis
Spin/o – spine
My/o – muscle
Surgic/o - surgery
UNIT 1 PREFIXES AND SUFFIXES
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Hyper – above or excess
Hypo – below
Epi – upon
a- /an – without
Pre – before
Pro – before, in front of,
for/good
Anti-against
Sym/syn – together
Contra – opposite/against
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-osis - condition
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-ectomy – surgical
removal
-rrhea - flow or discharge
-itis - inflammation
-cyte – cell
- oma - tumor
- ology - study of
-megaly – enlargement
- algia – pain
-dynia – pain
-ic, -al, -ar, -tic – pertaining
to
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POSITIONAL TERMS
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The anatomical position is of importance in
anatomy because it is the position of
reference for anatomical nomenclature
“Pinterest link”
What is it?
The anatomical position is:
“the universal accepted starting
point used to describe or analyze
anatomical terms or movement.”
To be in correct anatomical position, the body
must meet 3 criteria:
1.
Upright, standing position
2.
Face and feet pointing
forward
3.
Arms at the side, palms facing
forward
Anatomical Planes
-relate to positions in space and found at right angles to each
other
-these planes can be positioned on specific parts of the body
Frontal/Coronal
-vertical; splits the
body into front and
back halves
Sagittal/Mid-sagittal
-vertical; splits the
body into left and
right halves
Transverse/Horizontal
-splits the body into
upper and lower
halves
BODY CAVITIES
ABDOMINAL QUADRANTS
QUADRANTS
ORGANS
RUQ
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Liver
Gallbladder
R. Kidney
RLQ
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Cecum (junction
between intestines)
Appendix
R. Ovary
LUQ
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Stomach
Pancreas
Spleen
L. Kidney
LLQ
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L. Ovary
UNIT 1 POSITIONAL TERMS
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Frontal
Superior
Inferior
Anterior
Posterior
Medial
Lateral
Distal
Proximal
BODY POSITION TERMINOLOGY
THE FOLLOWING TERMS WILL BECOME LIKE A SECOND LANGUAGE FOR YOU. THESE TERMS ARE
USED TO DESCRIBE POSITION OF THE BODY AND WILL BE USED EXTENSIVELY WHEN WE TALK
ABOUT MUSCLES AND BONES
MEDIAL- TOWARDS THE
MIDLINE(CENTER) OF THE BODY
LATERAL- AWAY FROM THE MIDLINE OF
THE BODY
Superficial - on or close to
the surface of the body
Deep - farther away from
the surface of the body
 Distal- situated farthest
from the point of
attachment
SUPERIOR- TOWARDS THE TOP OF THE
BODY (CRANIAL)
INFERIOR- TOWARDS THE BOTTOM OF
THE BODY (CAUDAL)
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Anterior- towards the front
of the body (ventral)
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Posterior- towards the back
of the body (dorsal)
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Proximal- situated closest
to the point of attachment