Medical Terminology Basics

Medical Terminology

• amni/o- refers to the amnion, the sac of fluid surrounding the embryo, examples include amniotic cavity and amniotic fluid.
• angi/o- refers to a vessel, typically a blood vessel, angiography is a medical imaging technique to visualize the inside of blood vessels, identifying blockages and abnormalities.
• arteri/o- denotes an artery, arteriovenous fistula is an abnormal connection between an artery and vein.
• ather/o- indicates fatty plaque or deposits, atherosclerosis is a condition marked by the buildup of fatty deposits, cholesterol, and plaque on artery walls.
• chem/o- signifies a drug or chemical substance, chemotherapy is a cancer treatment that uses drugs to kill or inhibit cancer cell growth.
• cry/o- refers to cold, cryotherapy involves using extreme cold to freeze and destroy abnormal tissue like warts or tumors.
• dys- indicates difficult, painful, or abnormal conditions, dysphagia is difficulty swallowing, and dysuria is painful urination.
• ec- means out or outside, an ectopic pregnancy occurs outside the normal uterine location.
• encephal/o- denotes the brain, encephalitis is inflammation of the brain, and an electroencephalogram (EEG) records brain activity.
• mening/o- refers to the meninges, the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord, meningitis is inflammation of these membranes.
• myel/o- often refers to bone marrow or related substances, multiple myeloma is a cancer where plasma cells grow uncontrollably in the bone marrow.
• salping/o- indicates the fallopian (uterine) tube, salpingitis is inflammation of the fallopian tube.
• septic/o- relates to infection, septicemia is blood infections resulting from bacteria or pathogens entering the bloodstream.
• tonsill/o- refers to the tonsils, tonsillitis is inflammation of the tonsils, and tonsillectomy is surgical removal.
• ur/o- indicates urine, urea, or the urinary tract, uremia is a condition where kidney failure leads to urea accumulation in the blood.
• -rrhea (flow, discharge) e.g. rhinorrhea,
• menorrhea indicates normal menstrual flow.
• oligomenorrhea means infrequent or irregular menstrual cycles.
• polymenorrhea means frequent menstrual cycles.
• dysmenorrhea indicates painful menstrual cycles.
• -rrhage or -rrhagia indicates excessive discharge of blood, hemorrhage is an example.
• menorrhagia means excessive bleeding during menstruation.
• -sclerosis denotes hardening, atherosclerosis and arteriosclerosis are examples.
• -uria indicates a condition of urine, hematuria refers to blood in the urine.
• -centesis is a surgical puncture to remove fluid, thoracocentesis, arthrocentesis, and amniocentesis.
• -therapy indicates treatment, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and cryotherapy are examples.