Medical Terminology Basics

Medical Terminology

• The language used to describe the human body, its functions, and medical procedures
• Also known as the language of healthcare
• Composed of basic elements: roots, prefixes, and suffixes

Roots

• Provide the core meaning of a medical term
• Usually of Greek or Latin origin
• Can appear anywhere in the term
• Multiple roots can have the same meaning (e.g., pulmon- and pneumon- both refer to lungs)
• Combining a root with a combining vowel creates a combining form

Combining Forms

• Roots are often joined to other roots or suffixes beginning with consonants using a combining vowel
• Example:
  • Pneum- means air (pneum/o)
  • -Thorax means chest
  • Pneum/o + -thorax = pneumothorax (air in the chest cavity)
• Combining vowel is not used when joining a root word with a suffix that starts with a vowel
• Any vowel (a, e, i, o, or u) can be used as a combining vowel

Suffixes

• Groups of letters positioned at the end of a medical term
• Can have multiple meanings
• A combining vowel is used if a suffix starts with a consonant

Types of Suffixes

Diagnostic Suffixes

• Form medical terms related to diagnosis, procedures, or tests to identify diseases
• Examples: -crit, -gram, -graph, -lysis, -oma, -rrhage

Surgical Suffixes

• Produce medical terms that describe invasive surgical procedures performed on the body
• Examples: -centesis, -ectomy, -plasty, -stomy, -tripsy

Pathologic Suffixes

• Result in medical terms that describe symptoms or signs of a disease process
• Examples: -algia, -ectasis, -edema, -emesis, -genesis, -itis, -oma, -osis, -pathy, -penia

Adjectival Suffixes

• 28 suffixes that all mean "pertaining to"
• Examples: -ac, -al, -ale, -alis, -ar, -aris, -ary, -atic, -ative, -eal, -ent, -etic, -ial, -ic, -ica, -ical, -ine, -ior, -iosum, -ious, -istic, -ius, -nic, -ous, -tic, -tiz, -tous, -us

Noun Suffixes

• Don't fall under other categories but maintain the root as a noun
• Examples: -iatry, -ician

Explore the essential components of medical terminology, including roots, combining forms, and suffixes. This quiz will help you understand the foundational language of healthcare, providing insights into how terms are formed and their meanings.