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Essentials of Medical
Language
Allan, Lockyer
Chapter 1:
The Anatomy of
Word Construction:
The Essential Elements of the
Language of Medicine
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1-1
The Anatomy of Word
Construction:
The Essential Elements of the Language of
Medicine
Lesson 1.1: The Construction of
Medical Words
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1-2
Roots and Combining Vowels
• All medical terms have one or more roots.
• The root provides the meaning of the
word.
• Example:
– The word pneumonia has the root pneumon-,
meaning lung or air.
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Roots and Combining Vowels
• Roots are often joined to other elements of
a medical term by placing a combining
vowel on the end of the root.
• A root plus a combining vowel creates a
combining form.
• Example: pneum + o
pneum/o
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Keynote
• Throughout this textbook, the combining
vowel will be separated from the root by a
slash (/) whenever the term is being
analyzed.
• Example: respir/a
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Combining Forms
pneum-oroot
combining
vowel
pneum/o
combining
form
pulmon-oroot
combining
vowel
pulmon/o
combining
form
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Keynote
Different roots can have the same meaning.
Pulmon- and pneumon- both mean lung.
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Element Review
• Identify the elements of the following word:
- pneumothorax
pneum / -o/
root combining
vowel
thorax
root
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Suffix
• A suffix is an element added to the end of a root
or combining form to give it a new meaning.
• If the suffix begins with a consonant, it must
follow a combining vowel.
• If the suffix begins with a vowel, no combining
vowel is needed.
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Suffix
pulmon –ary
root + suffix
= pulmonary, pertaining to the lung
pulmon/o –logy
root + combining vowel + suffix
= pulmonology, study of the lung
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Suffix
–ia
a condition of
pneumonia, a condition (infection) of the lung
–ation
a process
respiration, a process of breathing.
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Prefix
• A prefix is an element added to the
beginning of a root or combining form to
continue to expand the meaning of
medical terms.
• Prefixes never require a combining vowel.
• Not every term has a prefix.
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Prefix
pre– mature
prefix + root
= premature, before the normal pregnancy
post– mature
prefix + root
= postmature, after the normal pregnancy
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Prefix
uni–
unilateral, one side of the body
bi–
bilateral, two (both) sides of the body
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Prefix
peri–
perinatal, around the time of birth
epi–
epigastric, above the stomach
hypo–
hypogastric, below the stomach
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Prefix
micro–
microcyte, small red blood cell
macro–
macrocyte, large red blood cell
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Element Review
• Identify the prefixes and suffixes of the
following word:
– perinatal
periprefix
- nat root
- al
suffix
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Element Review
• Identify the prefixes and suffixes of the
following word:
– hypogastric
hypoprefix
-gastr- -ic
root
suffix
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The Anatomy of Word
Construction
Lesson 1.2: Word Analysis and
Deconstruction
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Word Deconstruction
• When you see an unfamiliar medical term,
first identify the suffix.
– cardiologist
The suffix is -logist, one who studies and is a
specialist in. Cardi/o is the combining form for
heart.
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Word Deconstruction
• Use deconstruction to determine the
meaning of the following word:
– myocardial
The suffix is -al, pertaining to; my/o is the
combining form for muscle; and cardi means
heart.
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Element Review
• Identify the elements of the following word:
– cardiomyopathy
cardi/o-my/o-pathy
combining combining suffix
form
form
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Pronunciations
• Correct pronunciation of medical terms is
essential so that other health professionals
can understand what you are saying.
• It is a most important component in
ensuring patient safety and providing highquality patient care.
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Pronunciations
• Some words that are pronounced the same are
spelled differently.
For example:
Both ilium and ileum are pronounced
ILL -ee-um.
The ilium is a bone in the pelvis
The ileum is a segment of the small intestine.
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Pronunciations
• Some words sound the same if incorrectly
pronounced.
For example:
The term prostate, pronounced PROSS-tate,
refers to the gland at the base of the male
bladder.
The term prostrate means to be physically weak
or exhausted or to lie flat on the ground.
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Plurals
• Plural endings for medical terms do not
simply involve adding an “s.”
• Plural endings must be memorized.
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Plural Examples
• Refer to Table 1.1 of the text, page 12.
Singular Ending Plural Ending Examples
-a
-ae
axilla
axillae
-is
-es
diagnosis
diagnoses
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Keynote
• Many words, when they are written or
pronounced, have an element that if
misspelled or mispronounced gives the
intended word an entirely different
meaning.
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Keynote
• Consider the case of confusing
hypotension (low blood pressure) with
hypertension (high blood pressure)
A treatment response to the different
meaning could cause a medical error and
perhaps the death of a patient.
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Keynote
• Precision in written and verbal
communication is essential to prevent
errors in patient care.
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Final Word
• Being a health professional requires the utmost
attention to detail and precision in both written
documentation and verbal communication. A
patient’s life can be in your hands.
• Any incorrect spelling can reflect badly on the
whole health team.
• Any incorrect pronunciation and spelling can
reflect badly on you as a health professional.
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Final Word
• Roots provide the core meaning of medical terms.
• Roots are often joined to other elements in the
medical term by placing a combining vowel on the
end of the root.
• Adding a suffix or a prefix to a root can build new
words with different meanings.
• Precision in communication is vitally important.
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