Unit 5
Medical
Body Organization
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Objectives
• Spell and define terms.
• Recognize the meanings of common
prefixes, suffixes, and word roots.
• Build medical terms from word parts.
• Write the abbreviations commonly used
in health care facilities.
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Objectives
• Describe the simple to complex
organization of the body.
• Name four types of tissues and their
characteristics.
• Name and locate major organs as parts
of body systems, using proper anatomic
terms.
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Medical Terminology
• Medical science and health care have a
special language called medical
terminology
– The language of health care
– Terms are formed by building on common
word parts
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Medical Terminology
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Medical Word Parts
• Familiarity with important word parts
comes from study and repeated usage
• You will gain experience with word parts
as you practice reporting and charting
– And by communicating with your
coworkers
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Medical Word Parts
• A single medical word root
– Can sometimes be placed in different parts
of a word and still have a specific meaning
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Prefixes and Suffixes
• Many medical words have common
beginnings
– Prefixes
• Many medical words have common
endings
– Suffixes
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Prefixes and Suffixes
• By learning some of the more common
prefixes (Table 5–2)
• Suffixes (Table 5–3)
– You can put together many new words
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Common Abbreviations
• Table 5–4
– Lists abbreviations and their meanings
– They have been grouped together for
easier learning
– Other abbreviations, along with the
circumstances in which they are used most
often, will be presented in the following
units
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Abbreviations
• Each facility
– Has a list of abbreviations that may be
used
– Has a list of abbreviations that should not
be used
• Facility should update “do not use” list every
three months
• Check it regularly
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Abbreviations
• Abbreviations on the “do not use” list
are usually those that were formerly
common and accepted
– Have been found to cause confusion and
errors
• Because the “do not use” list involves
patient safety, it is very important
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Body Organization
• All nursing care is directed toward
helping patients reach optimum health
and independence
– Health is a state of well-being
– Disease is any change from the healthy
state
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Body Organization
• Medical science
– Study of disease and its effects on the
human body
– Effects are easier to understand when you
have a clear mental picture of a normal
and properly functioning body
– First step is to understand the organization
of the body
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Anatomic Terms
• Anatomy and physiology
– Most easily understood and learned if they
are studied in an orderly manner
• Special terms
– Used to describe the relationship of one
body part to another
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Anatomic Terms
• Anatomic position
– Keep this in mind whenever we describe
the relationship of the body parts
• In our own minds
– We should always position the body in this
way before describing any body part or
area
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Anatomic Terms
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Descriptive Terms
• Imaginary lines drawn through the body
provide us with other reference terms.
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Descriptive Terms
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Points of Attachment
• Arms and legs are called the extremities
of the body
• Proximal and Distal
– Two terms used to describe relationship
between parts of the extremities and their
points of attachment to the body
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Points of Attachment
• Proximal
– Means closest to the point of attachment
• Distal
– Means farthest away from the point of
attachment
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Abdominal Regions
• Abdomen is divided into four quadrants
– Umbilicus at the central point
– Refer to Figure 5–5
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Abdominal Regions
• Abdomen can also be divided into nine
regions
– Knowing these regions will be important as
you report and document your
observations
• Refer to Figure 5–6
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Abdominal Regions
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Organization of the Body
• All parts of the body are interdependent
– Basic unit of the body is the cell
– Groups of similar cells are organized into
tissues
– Different tissues form organs
– Organs are organized into systems that
perform body functions
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Organization of the Body
•
•
•
•
•
•
Cells
Tissues
Organs
Systems
Membranes
Cavities
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