Medical Terminology Basics

Word Building Components

• Medical terms are constructed from word roots, prefixes, and suffixes.
• Word roots represent the core meaning of a term.
• Prefixes are added at the beginning of a word and modify its meaning.
• Suffixes are added at the end of a word and change its grammatical function (e.g., noun, adjective).

Major Organ Word Roots

• Stomato: Mouth
• Dento: Teeth
• Gingiva: Gums
• Glosso/linguo: Tongue
• Nephro/reno: Kidney
• Encephalo: Brain
• Hepato: Liver
• Gastro: Stomach
• Entero: Intestine

Compound Word and Compound Term

• Compound words are formed by combining two independent words, example: Chickenpox.
• Compound terms are constructed by combining a word root with a combining vowel and another word root, example: gastroscope.

Suffix Examples

• -ist: Suffix used to create a noun, denotes a person, example: dentist.
• -ic: Suffix used to create an adjective, example: anemic.

Singular and Plural Forms

• Sarcoma: Singular form; Sarcomata: Plural form.
• Diagnosis: Singular form; Diagnoses: Plural form.
• Phalanx: Singular form; Phalanges: Plural form.
• Coccus: Singular form; Cocci: Plural form.
• Vertex: Singular form; Vertices: Plural form.
• Cervix: Singular form; Cervices: Plural form.

Prefixes of Position

• Circum-: Around
• Peri-: Around
• Meta-: Beyond, after
• Retro-: Behind
• Ultra-: Beyond, in excess
• Meso-: Middle

Body Planes

• Coronal: A vertical cut that divides the body into anterior and posterior halves.
• Sagittal: A vertical cut that divides the body into equal right and left halves.

Directional Terms

• Medial (medi/o): Towards the middle.
• Lateral (later/o): Towards the side.
• Anterior (anter/o): Front of the body.
• Posterior (poster/o): Back of the body.

Combined Directional Terms

• Anterolateral: Front and side
• Anteromedial: Front and middle
• Anterosuperior: Front and top
• Posterolateral: Back and side
• Posterolateral: Back and side
• Posteroexternal: Back and outside of the body
• Posterointernal: Back and inside of the body

Distance and Direction

• Proximal: Closer to the point of origin or attachment.
• Distal: Further from the point of origin or attachment.
• Mediolateral: Middle and side
• Superolateral: Above and to the side

Numerical Prefixes

• Hemi- / Semi-: Half
• Mono- / Uni-: One
• Prot- / Prim-: First
• Di(plo)- / Bi-: Two
• Tri-: Three
• Tetra- / Quadr-: Four
• Penta- / Quint-: Five

Prefixes of Color

• Leuko-: White
• Erythro-: Red
• Cyano-: Blue
• Melano-: Black
• Xantho-: Yellow
• Chloro-: Green
• Chromo-: Colored

Prefixes: Anti & Contra

• Anti-: Against, example: Antipyretic (against fever).
• Contra-: Against, example: Contraindication (against indication).

Prefix: Dys

• Dys-: Painful, faulty, diseased, bad, difficult, or abnormal.
• Dysphagia: Difficult swallowing
• Dyspepsia: Indigestion
• Dyspnea: Difficult breathing
• Dysuria: Difficult urination

Prefix: Pseudo

• Pseudo-: False
• Pseudocyesis: False pregnancy
• Pseudocyst: A false cyst

Prefix: Auto

• Auto-: Self
• Autolysis: Self-destruction
• Autoimmunity: Reaction of immune response to one’s own tissues

Root Words Related to Disease

• Alg-, algi-: Pain, example: Myalgia (muscle pain).
• Carcin-: Cancer, example: Carcinogen (a cancer-causing agent).
• Onc/o-: Tumor, example: Oncogene (a gene that promotes tumor growth).
• Lith-: Stone, example: Lithiasis (formation of stones).
• Path/o-: Disease, example: Pathogen (a disease-causing organism).
• Py/o-: Pus, example: Pyogenic (producing pus).
• Pyr/o-: Fever, fire, example: Pyretic (feverish).
• Scler/o-: Hard, example: Sclerosis (hardening).
• Tox/o-: Poison, example: Exotoxin (a toxin released by bacteria).

Prefixes & Suffixes Related to Disease

• Mal-: Bad, example: Malabsorption (poor absorption).
• Xero-: Dry, example: Xerosis (dryness).
• Pachy-: Thick, example: Pachyemia (thickening of the blood).
• -oma: Tumor, example: Blastoma (tumor arising from embryonic cells).
• -rhage: Flow, example: Hemorrhage (bleeding).
• -rhea: Flow, example: Rhinorrhea (runny nose).

Suffixes Related to Disease

• -edema: Swelling, example: Lymphedema (swelling due to lymphatic fluid buildup).
• -lysis: Dissolving, destruction, example: Hemolysis (destruction of red blood cells).
• -malacia: Softening, example: Tracheomalacia (softening of the trachea).
• -necrosis: Death of, example: Osteonecrosis (death of bone tissue).
• -spasm: Cramp, sudden contraction, example: Bronchospasm (spasm of the bronchi).
• -stasis: Stoppage, example: Hemostasis (stopping of bleeding).
• -stenosis: Narrowing, example: Arteriostenosis (narrowing of an artery).