Medical Terminology Basics

Course Information

• Course: APCVS
• Week: 1

Lesson Objectives

• Students will be able to define and spell terms from the chapter.
• Students will be able to identify and discuss medical terminology word parts.
• Students will be able to analyze, build, spell, and pronounce medical words.

Word Parts Are Key!

• Four basic types of word parts create complex medical terms:
  • Word roots
  • Combining forms
  • Suffixes
  • Prefixes

Analyzing a Medical Term

• Example: HEMAT/O/LOGY
  • Root: "blood"
  • Combining vowel: "o"
  • Suffix: "study of"

Derivation of Healthcare Terms

• Most medical terms originate from Greek and Latin.
• Examples:
  • Greek: gloss/o
  • Latin: lingu/o
• Word roots often indicate the body part involved, but not always.

Word Roots

• Examples:
  • cardi = heart
  • gastr = stomach
  • hepat = liver
  • neur = nerve
• Note: Word roots don't inherently mean "pertaining to"; suffix provides that meaning.

Some Word Roots and Their Combining Forms

• Examples:
  • Arthr/o = joints
  • Cardi/o = heart
  • Gastr/o = stomach
  • Hepat/o = liver
  • Lingu/o = tongue
  • Oste/o = bone
  • Pneum/o = lung

Word Parts, Continued (Suffixes)

• Suffixes appear at the end of terms.
• Often indicate a pathological condition, diagnostic procedure, or therapeutic intervention.
• Examples:
  • cardiomegaly
  • gastralgia
  • neuritis

Some Suffixes

• -itis = inflammation
• -scopy = visual examination
• -tomy = surgical incision
• -ectomy = surgical removal, excision, resection
• -ia, -al, -ic = pertaining to
• -logy = study of
• -megaly = enlargement
• -ostomy = create an artificial opening

Prefixes

• Prefixes appear before a combining form.
• Often indicate location, time, number, or status.
• Provide more information about the term.
• Examples:
  • Pericardium = surrounding the heart
  • Epigastric = pertaining to above the stomach
  • Polyneuritis = inflammation of many nerves

Some Prefixes

• sub = under
• hyper = above, increased
• hypo = below, decreased
• dys = difficult, painful
• ante = before
• anti = against
• pre = before
• peri = surrounding

The Power of Learning Medical Terminology

• Memorizing word parts and rules allows quick analysis and creation of thousands of medical terms.

Analyzing Terms

• Memorizing prefixes, roots/combining forms, and suffixes allows the analysis of numerous medical terms.
• Breaking down words helps understand word-building patterns.
• Examples:
  • Electr = electricity
  • Cardi = heart
  • Gram = record
  • Electrocardiogram = written record of the electrical activity of the heart

Analyzing Terms, Continued

• Example: "sublingual"
  • sub- (under)
  • lingu- (tongue)
  • -al (pertaining to)
  • Sublingual = pertaining to under the tongue

Determining Meanings Based on Word Parts

• Deciphering medical terms based on word parts.
• Combining vowels (most commonly "o") make pronunciation easier.
• Examples:
  • Cardiologist = cardi/o (heart) + -logist(specialist)
  • Gastritis = gastr/o (stomach) + -itis (inflammation)
  • Neuralgia = neur (nerves) + algia (pain)

Building Healthcare Terms, Continued

• Joining combining forms and suffixes:
  • Keep combining vowel if suffix starts with consonant.
  • Drop combining vowel if suffix starts with vowel.
• Examples:
  • Arthroscop = arthr/o + -scopy
  • Gastrotomy = gastr/o + -tomy
  • Arthritis = arthr/o + -itis
  • Gastrectomy = gastr/o + -ectomy

Building Healthcare Terms Continued

• Prefixes are joined directly to the beginning of the combining form.
• Examples:
  • Hemiglossectomy = hemi- + gloss/o + -ectomy
  • Prenatal = pre- + nat/o + -al
  • Hypothermia = hypo- + therm/o + -ia

Singular/Plural Rules

• If a term ends in "-a," drop the "-a" and add "-ae."
• Example: vertebra/vertebrae
• If a term ends in "-is," drop the "-is" and add "-es" (pronounced -eez).
• Example: diagnosis/diagnoses
• If a term ends in "-nx", drop the "-nx" and add "-nges" (pronounced -jeez).
• Example: phalanx/phalanges
• If a term ends in "-um," drop the "-um" and add "-a" (pronounced -ah).
• Example: bacterium/bacteria
• If a term ends in "-us," drop the "-us" and add "-i" (pronounced -eye).
• Example: digitus/digiti
• If a term ends in "-y," drop the "-y" and add "-ies" (pronounced -eez).
• Example: therapy/therapies

Let's Review

• What prefixes or suffixes mean the following:
  • -itis = inflammation/infection
  • tachy = fast
  • brady = slow
  • hem = blood
  • -ectomy = surgical removal
  • algia = painful
  • mal = bad

Practice Questions

• Medical terminology primarily stems from Latin and Greek words - True
• A competent medical assistant needs to learn all possible medical terms - False
• A medical dictionary and reputable website are helpful resources for learning medical terms - True
• A combining vowel is sometimes added when joining a word root with a suffix or another root - True
• A prefix is placed at the end of a word to change its meaning - False
• The word root for tongue is lingu - True
• The word root athr means joint - True
• A word root that means white is leuk - True
• The word root hem and hemat both mean blood - True
• The umbilical region describes where the navel is - True
• Inflammation of the heart muscle is called myocarditis - True
• The thoracic cavity holds both the heart and lungs - True
• A directional term for front side of body is anterior - True

Why Learn Anatomy?

• Communicate with healthcare workers
• Reduce errors
• Define anatomy and physiology

Anatomical Postion

• Face forward, palms forward, standing erect, legs together

Body Cavities

• Dorsal include cranial and spinal cavities
• Ventral include thoracic, abdominal, and pelvic cavities

Abdominopelvic Quadrants

• Right upper quadrant (RUQ) includes liver
• Left upper quadrant (LUQ) includes stomach and spleen
• Right lower quadrant (RLQ) includes appendix
• Left lower quadrant (LLQ) includes intestines

Abdominopelvic Regions

• Nine regions. Examples: right hypochondriac, epigastric, umbilical

Planes of the Body

• Sagittal: divides left/right
• Midsagittal: divides body into two halves
• Frontal/Coronal: divides anterior/posterior (front/back) Transverse: divides superior/inferior (above/below)

Positional and Directional Terms

• General directional terms are used to denote relative locations. Examples: anterior, posterior, superior, inferior, medial, lateral, proximal, distal, supine, prone

Body Systems: Structure and Function

• Anatomy: describes structure of the body
• Physiology: describes functions and processes of the body
• Systems include urinary, digestive, respiratory, reproductive, immune, endocrine, integumentary, skeletal, muscular, nervous

Organization of the Human Body

• Human organism, body systems, organs, tissues, and cells
• Cells: responsible for energy conversion, anabolism(builds up substances), catabolism(breaks down substances), metabolism (anabolism + catabolism)

Cell Components

• Identify cells components, each with its function.

Tissues (Histo)

• Four main tissues: epithelial, connective, muscular, nervous

Medical equipment and terms related to medical probes

• Proper use and placement of various types of medical probes, particularly those related to sublingual thermometers