Medical Terminology Basics

Medical Terminology

• Medical terms can be divided into components: root word, prefix, suffix, and combining vowel or form
• Root words relate to the structure and function of the human body
• Prefixes modify the meaning of a word, e.g., a, an (no, not, without), contra (against, opposite), dys (painful, difficult)
• Suffixes form derivatives, e.g., algia (pain), aemia (blood condition), graphy (process of recording)

Prefix Examples

• a, an: no, not, without
• contra: against, opposite
• dys: painful, difficult
• hyper: excessive
• peri: around, surrounding
• quad: four
• tachy: rapid, fast

Suffix Examples

• algia: pain
• aemia: blood condition
• graphy: process of recording
• itis: inflammation
• osis: abnormal condition
• oma: tumour
• logy: study of

Root Word Examples

• Referring to the part of the body, e.g., electro (electrical), cardio (heart), arthro (joint), gastro (stomach), entero (intestines), lipo (fat), haemato (blood), nephro (kidney), onco (tumour/mass), osteo (bone)

Common Terms

• Gastroenterology: study of the stomach and intestines
• Haematology: study of the blood
• Oncology: study of tumour/masses
• Lipohaemarthrosis: abnormal condition resulting in fat and blood in the joint

Acronyms

• Multiple versions of same acronym
• Local knowledge is required, e.g., CXR (chest x-ray), MVA (motor vehicle accident), Hx, # (fracture), ?/7 (indicates day)

Jargon

• Language peculiar to a trade or group, e.g., radiographic jargon: kVp, mAs, SID, AP, PA, Sup, Inf

Health Information Management

• Health care providers are required to maintain all patient care information
• Health records concentrate all patient care information for an individual
• Records promote effective communication and confidentiality
• EMR/HER (electronic medical record/health electronic record): a portal for clinicians to access patient health records

Health Informatics and eHealth

• Health informatics: information systems, computer science, and health care
• eHealth: electronically connects different points of patient care for secure sharing of health information
• eHealth objectives: increase quality, safety, and efficiency of patient care, decrease delivery costs, provide easy-to-use systems for improved communication

My Health Record

• Always available to patients and providers
• Integral in emergency situations
• Contains clinical documents, medicines, reactions, imaging, diagnostic pathology reports, discharge summaries, e-referrals, immunisations, and patient-added information

eHealth Systems

• PCEHR: patient-controlled electronic health record (my health record)
• EIS: electronic imaging system
• EIP: enterprise imaging repository
• DICOM: standard image format across modalities
• PACS: network for acquisition, interpretation, and storage of digital images
• Image access: remote viewing consoles in hospitals and external access via internet or teleradiology

eHealth Safety in Australia

• Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care: responsible for eHealth safety
• Contributes to eHealth safety by optimizing safety and quality in rollouts of clinical systems

Basic Guidelines of Medical Terminology

• Medical terminology consists of terms specific to medicine, acronyms, abbreviations, and jargon.
• Words can be divided into components that relate to the structure and function of the human body.

Components of Medical Language

• Root word: the form of a word after all affixes are removed.
• Prefix: an affix placed before a word to modify its meaning.
• Suffix: an affix that allows the element to which it is added to form a derivative.
• Combining vowel or form: AEIOUY, which make the word easier to pronounce when connecting multiple word roots.

Prefix Examples

• a, an: No, not, without.
• contra: Against, opposite.
• dys: Painful, difficult.
• hyper: Excessive.
• peri: Around, surrounding.
• quad: Four.
• tachy: Rapid, fast.

Suffix Examples

• algia: Pain.
• aemia: Blood condition.
• graphy: Process of recording.
• itis: Inflammation.
• osis: Abnormal condition.
• oma: Tumour.
• logy: Study of.

Root Word Examples

• arthro: Joint.
• carcino: Cancerous.
• gastro: Stomach.
• entero: Intestines.
• lipo: Fat.
• haemato: Blood.
• nephro: Kidney.
• onco: Tumour/mass.
• osteo: Bone.

Examples of Medical Terms

• Electrocardiogram: Record of electrical current associated with the heart muscle.
• Adenocarcinoma: Cancerous tumour originating in glandular (adenomatous cells) tissue.
• Gastroenterology: Study of the stomach and intestines.
• Haematology: Study of the blood.
• Oncology: Study of tumour/masses.
• Lipohaemarthrosis: Abnormal condition resulting in fat and blood in the joint.

Acronyms and Abbreviations

• Multiple versions of same acronym exist.
• Local knowledge is required, as they are not always obvious.
• Examples:
  • CXR: Chest X-ray.
  • MVA: Motor vehicle accident.
  • Hx: ... (history).
  • #: Fracture.
  • ?/7: Indicates day (2/7, two days ago).
  • /24: Indicates hours.
  • /52: Indicates weeks.

eHealth Systems

• PCEHR: Patient controlled electronic health record (my health record).
• EIS: Electronic imaging system.
• EIP: Enterprise imaging repository.
• DICOM: Standard image format across modalities (CT, MRI, nuclear medicine, ultrasound).