Medical Terminology
Introduction To Medical Terminology
 Medical words are unique. A single medical
term can express a complicated idea.
– “Catheter” (single word)
• A hollow, flexible tube that can be inserted into a
vessel or cavity of the body to withdraw or to
instill fluids (complicated idea)
 Medical Terminology is based on classic Greek
and Latin. Medical words also come from other
languages as well to include Dutch, English,
French, German and Spanish.
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Introduction To Medical Terminology
 Prefix: appear at the beginning of a word
 Root: foundation of most words and often
found in the middle of words
 Suffix: appear at the end of a word
– Example:
*Prefix
(bi)
two
+
+
+
bilingual
Root
(lingu)
tongue
+
+
+
Suffix
(al)
pertaining to
*This is most common configuration.
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Introduction To Medical Terminology
 Additional examples:
anemia
Prefix
+
Root
(an)
+
(no root)
without
+
(no root)
Prefix
+
(no prefix) +
(no prefix) +
cardia
Root
(card)
heart
+
Suffix
+
(emia)
+ condition of blood
+
Suffix
+
(ia)
+ state or condition of
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Introduction To Medical Terminology
 Most medical words have at least two parts. In
medical terminology, words with two or more parts
are called compound words.
 Not all medical terms will make sense when broken
down into individual parts:
 Example: hypochondria
Prefix
+
Root
+
Suffix
(hypo)
+
(chondr/o) +
(ia)
below normal +
cartilage + state or condition of
Literal meaning: Condition of below normal, or diminished
amounts of cartilage
Actual meaning: abnormal concern about one’s health
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Introduction To Medical Terminology
 The medical dictionary is the final authority! Many
(most) times the root word will be the most
important part in figuring out the meaning of a
medical term – but not always.
 Medical Terms Involving Surgical Procedures:
 When learning medical terms that describe
surgical procedures, the word part for the organ
or tissue will appear first – next to the suffix. The
suffix will describe the action being taken.
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Introduction To Medical Terminology
 Medical Terms Involving Surgical Procedures:
 Examples:
appendectomy
Prefix
+
Root
+
(no prefix) +
(append) +
(no prefix) +
appendix +
pericardiotomy
Prefix
+
Root
+
(peri)
+
(cardi/o)
+
around
+
heart
+
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Suffix
(ectomy)
removal of
Suffix
(tomy)
incision
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Introduction To Medical Terminology
 Spelling is especially critical when it comes to
medical terminology! A change in a single letter, or
its position, can completely change the meaning of
a word.
 Examples:
 Hemarthrosis: the escape of blood from a joint
into surrounding tissue
 Hemiarthrosis: a false articulation (joint) between
two bones
 The importance of proper spelling cannot be
over emphasized!
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Introduction To Medical Terminology
 Pronunciation can be difficult for many medical
terms. Many words may have different
pronunciations depending on which part of the
country/world you are in.
 Proper pronunciation is not always helpful in proper
spelling of a word. This can be attributed to
common Greek letter combinations.
 ps – pseudo, psychology (s)
 pn – pneumonia (n)
 pt – ptosis (t)
 x – xiphoid (z)
 rh – rhinitis (r)
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Prefixes, Roots & Suffixes
 Prefix: medical word part found at the beginning of
a medical word. The word prefix itself has two
parts:
 Pre- (in front of) + fix (attach to place)
 “Attach to beginning of a word”
 Medical dictionaries often attach a hyphen at the
end of a prefix
 Hemi- (half)
 Peri- (around)
 Hema- (blood)
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Prefixes, Roots & Suffixes
 Prefixes express eight kinds of relationships:
1. Time:
– Noct- (night) + ur (urine) + -ia (pertaining to,
condition)
– Nocturia: excessive urination during the night
2. Place:
– Meta- (next to, beyond) + carpal (pertaining to
wrist)
– Metacarpal: bones of the hand that are next to the
wrist
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Prefixes, Roots & Suffixes
 Prefixes express eight kinds of relationships:
3. Other parts:
– Circum- (around) + corneal (pertaining to, cornea)
– Circumcorneal: around the cornea
4. Color:
– Xano- (yellow) + cyano- (blue) + opsi (vision) + -ia
(state or condition)
– Xanocyanopsia: form of color blindness where
you can distinguish blue and yellow, but not red or
green
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Prefixes, Roots & Suffixes
 Prefixes express eight kinds of relationships:
5. Size:
– Micro- (small) + photo (light) + -graph (write)
– Microphotograph: small photograph
6. Direction:
– Levo (left) + phobo- (fear) + -ia (state or condition)
– Levophobia: a fear of objects on the left side of
the body
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Prefixes, Roots & Suffixes
 Prefixes express eight kinds of relationships:
7. Type or Character of Procedure:
– Allo (different from; other) + -plasty (molding;
surgically forming)
– Alloplasty: plastic surgery with non-human tissue
8. Amount or Quantity:
– Oligo (little; scanty) + cyt (cell) + -hem (blood) + ia
(state or condition)
– Oligocythemia: a deficiency in the number of
blood cells
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Prefixes, Roots & Suffixes
 Roots foundation word parts of medical terminology
 Also known as:
 Word part
 Stem
 Core
 Root element
 Core element
 When one root element is combined with another
root element it is called a combining form. They
are often linked together by a vowel, or combining
vowel. The most common combining vowel is “o.”
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Prefixes, Roots & Suffixes
 Suffixes word parts that come at the end of a
medical word. Suffixes can change the meaning of
a word by making them more specific.
 Gloss (tongue) + algia (pain) = glossalgia (pain in tongue)
 Suffixes can change roots into nouns.
 Dacryo (tear) + -genic (create; beginning) = dacryogenic
(beginning of the formation of tears)
 Suffixes can change roots into adjectives.
 lumbo (loins) + -ar (related to or pertaining to) = lumbar
(pertaining to the loins)
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Prefixes, Roots & Suffixes
 Suffixes
 Suffixes express a state, condition, appearance
or symptom.
 hemo (blood) + -orrhage (to burst forth) = hemorrhage (an
abnormal internal or external discharge of blood)
 Galact (milk) + -osis (process; action; state or condition
of) = galactosis (the secretion of milk)
 Suffixes express surgical procedures.
 Chole (bile) + -cyst (bladder; bag) + -ectomy (surgical
removal of) = cholecystectomy (surgical removal of
gallbladder)
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Prefixes, Roots & Suffixes
 Suffixes
 Suffixes express smallness. (Diminutive
suffixes)
 Ven (vein) + -ule (little; small) = venule (a tiny vein)
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Assignment
 Use a medical dictionary to:
 Break up the following medical terms into word parts
 Define each word part
 Define the entire medical term
Gastritis – Gastr / itis – inflammation of the stomach
(stomach) / (inflammation)
adenoma
biopsy
cerebral
cytoscopy
electrocardiogram
gastrotomy
adenitis
carcinoma
incision
cytology
enteritis
diagnosis
arthritis
cardiology
excision
dermatitis
erythrocyte
prognosis
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biology
cephalic
endocrine
hypodermic
gastrectomy
gynecology
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Prefixes, Roots & Suffixes
 Suffixes
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