Medical Terminology Basics

Word-Building System

• Medical terminology is built upon a system of word roots, suffixes, and prefixes.
• Word roots are the core meaning of a word.
• Suffixes are added to the end of a word and modify its meaning.
• Prefixes are added to the beginning of a word and modify its meaning.

Major Organs in the Human Body

• Stomat/o - mouth
• Dent/o - teeth
• Gingiv/a - gums
• Gloss/o/lingu/o - tongue
• Nephro/ren/o - kidney
• Encephal/o - brain
• Hepat/o - liver
• Gastr/o - stomach
• Enter/o - intestine

Compound Words

• Combining two words to form a new word
• Example: Chicken + Pox = Chickenpox

Compound Terms

• Combining word roots using combining vowels (usually "o") to form a single term
• Examples:
  • Gastr/o + scope = Gastroscope
  • Neur/o + surgery = Neurosurgery
  • Micr/o + meter = Micrometer
  • Hydr/o + phobia = Hydrophobia
  • Hydr/o + therapy = Hydrotherapy

Suffixes

• Word Root + Suffix = Noun (e.g., dent + ist = dentist)
• Word Root + Suffix = Adjective (e.g., anem + ic = anemic)

Plural Forms

• Singular: Sarcoma, Diagnosis, Phalanx, Coccus, Vertex, Cervix
• Plural: Sarcomata, Diagnoses, Phalanges, Cocci, Vertices, Cervices

Prefixes of Position

• Circum- = around
• Peri- = around
• Meta- = beyond, after
• Retro- = behind
• Ultra- = beyond, in excess
• Meso- = middle

Body Planes

• Coron/al - divides the body in anterior and posterior halves
• Sagitt/al - divides the body in equal right and left halves

Directional Terms

• Medial - towards the middle (medi/o)
• Lateral - towards the side (later/o)
• Anterior - front (anter/o)
• Posterior - back (poster/o)

Combined Directional Terms

• Anter/o/lateral - front and side
• Anter/o/medial - front and middle
• Anter/o/superior - front and top
• Poster/o/lateral - back and side
• Poster/o/external - back and outside of the body
• Poster/o/internal - back and inside of the body

Distance and Directions

• Proximal - closer to the point of reference
• Distal - farther from the point of reference

Numerical Prefixes

Prefixes of Colors

• Leuko - leukocyte (white)
• Erythro - erythrocyte (red)
• Cyano - cyanosis (blue)
• Melano - melanoma (black)
• Xantho - xanthoma (yellow)
• Chloro - chloroplast (green)
• Chromo - chromocyte (color)

Prefixes Against

• Anti- = against
  • Anti/pyretic: against fever
  • Anti/toxin: against a toxin
  • Anti/depressant: against depression
  • Anti/coagulant: against blood clotting
  • Anti/convulsant: against seizures
• Contra- = against
  • Contra/indication - against indication
  • Contra/ceptive - against conception
  • Contra/lateral - opposite side

Dys- = Painful, Faulty

• Dys- prefix indicates painful, faulty, diseased, bad, difficult, or abnormal.
  • Dys/phag/ia - difficult swallowing
  • Dys/pepsia - indigestion
  • Dys/pnea - difficult breathing
  • Dys/uria - difficult urination

Pseudo- = False

• Pseud/o/cyesis - false pregnancy
• Pseud/o/cyst - a false cyst

Auto = Self

• Auto/lysis - self-destroying
• Auto/immunity - immune response to one's own tissues

Roots Related to Disease

• Alg, algi - pain (myalgia, analgesia)
• Carcin - cancer (carcinogen)
• Onc/o - tumor (oncogene)
• Lith - stone (lithiasis)
• Path/o - disease (pathogen)
• Py/o - pus (pyogenic)
• Pyr/o - fever, fire (pyretic)
• Scler/o - hard (sclerosis)
• Tox/o - poison (exotoxin)

Prefixes & Suffixes Related to Disease

• Mal- - bad (malabsorption)
• Xero- - dry (xerosis)
• Pachy- - thick (pachyemia)
• -oma - tumor (blastoma)
• -rhage - flow (hemorrhage)
• -rhea - flow (rhinorrhea)

Roots Used as Suffixes Related to Disease

• Edema - swelling (lymphedema)
• Lysis - dissolving, destruction (hemolysis)
• Malacia - softening (tracheomalacia)
• Necrosis - death of (osteonecrosis)
• Spasm - cramp, sudden contraction (bronchospasm)
• Stasis - stoppage (hemostasis)
• Stenosis - narrowing (arteriostenosis)

This quiz covers the foundational aspects of medical terminology, including word roots, suffixes, prefixes, and the major organs in the human body. Understand how to build and combine words effectively to enhance your medical vocabulary.