Medical Terminology Basics

Basic Word Structure

• Medical terminology is a new language requiring understanding of its building blocks.
• Medical terms are built from smaller parts.
• Root: The core of a word, giving its fundamental meaning (e.g., hemat means blood).
• Suffix: The ending of a word, modifying the root's meaning (e.g., ology means study of).
• Prefix: Added to the beginning, providing additional meaning (e.g., hypo means below).
• Combining Vowel: Usually "o," joining root to suffix or another root (e.g., cardio + logy = cardiology).
• Combining Form: A root combined with the combining vowel (e.g., gastro + o = gastro).
• Deconstruct medical terms from suffix backward.
• Remove combining vowel before suffixes starting with a vowel (e.g., gastritis not gastroitis).
• Preserve combining vowel between multiple roots (e.g., gastroenterology).

Combining Forms

• Adeno: Gland
• Arthro: Joint
• Bio: Life
• Carcino: Cancerous, cancer
• Cardio: Heart
• Cephalo: Head
• Cerebro: Cerebrum
• Crino: To secrete
• Cysto: Urinary bladder
• Cyto: Cell
• Dermo/Dermat: Skin
• Electro: Electricity
• Encephalo: Brain
• Entero: Intestines
• Erythro: Red
• Gastro: Stomach
• Glyco: Sugar
• Gyneco: Woman, female
• Hemato/Hemo: Blood
• Hepato: Liver
• Iatro: Treatment, physician
• Leuko: White
• Logo: Study of
• Nephro: Kidney
• Neuro: Nerve
• Onco: Tumor
• Ophthalmo: Eye
• Osteo: Bone
• Patho: Disease
• Pedi: Child
• Psycho: Mind
• Radio: X-rays
• Reno: Kidney
• Rhino: Nose
• Sarco: Flesh
• Secto: To cut
• Thrombo: Clot
• Uro: Urinary tract, urine

Suffixes

• -algia: Pain
• -ectomy: Excision, removal
• -emia: Blood condition
• -genic: Produced by
• -gram: Record
• -ic/ical: Pertaining to
• -ion: Process
• -ist: Specialist
• -itis: Inflammation
• -logy: Study of
• -oma: Tumor, mass, swelling
• -opsi: Process of viewing
• -osis: Condition, usually abnormal
• -pathy: Disease condition
• -scope: Instrument to examine visually
• -scopy: Process of visually examining
• -sis: State of, condition
• -tomy: Process of cutting, incision
• -uria: Condition related to urine

Prefixes

• a/an: No, not, without
• auto: Self, own
• dia: Complete, through
• endo: Within
• epi: Above
• exo: Out, outside of, outward
• hyper: Excessive, above, more than normal
• hypo: Deficient, below, under, less than normal
• in: Into, in
• peri: Surrounding, around
• pro: Before, forward
• re: Back, backward, again
• retro: Behind
• sub: Below, under
• trans: Across, through

Specialists

• Cardiologist: Heart specialist
• Gynecologist: Female reproductive health specialist
• Psychiatrist: Mental health specialist
• Oncologist: Cancer specialist
• Hematologist: Blood specialist
• Ophthalmologist: Eye specialist
• Neurologist: Nervous system specialist
• Nephrologist: Kidney specialist
• Gastroenterologist: Digestive system specialist
• Urologist: Urinary tract and male reproductive system specialist