Medical Terminology Chapter 1 Flashcards

Medical Terminology Basics

• -algia: Refers to pain or suffering.
• Dys-: Indicates a bad, difficult, painful, or abnormal condition.
• -ectomy: Implies surgical removal of a body part.
• -megaly: Denotes enlargement of an organ or tissue.
• Hyper-: Signifies excessive or increased conditions beyond normal.
• Hypo-: Denotes deficient or decreased conditions, less than normal.
• -itis: Refers to inflammation of tissues or organs.
• -malacia: Indicates abnormal softening of tissues.
• -necrosis: Refers to tissue death due to injury or disease.
• -osis: Denotes any abnormal condition or disease, not specifically specified.
• -ostomy: Refers to the creation of an artificial opening to the body.
• -otomy: Implies making an incision or cutting into.
• -plasty: Refers to surgical repair of a body part.

Blood & Discharge Terms

• -rrhage: Refers to a sudden bursting forth of blood.
• -rrhea: Indicates flow or discharge, typically from a body orifice.
• -rrhaphy: Refers to surgical suturing or stitching of tissue.
• -rrhexis: Implies rupture of a part or organ.
• -centesis: Denotes surgical puncture to remove fluid or gas.
• -sclerosis: Refers to abnormal hardening of tissues or organs.

Body Structures & Functions

• arthr/o: Pertains to joints.
• carcin/o: Indicates cancerous conditions.
• cardi: Refers to the heart.
• cephal: Relates to the head.
• electr: Pertains to electricity.
• gastr: Refers to the stomach.
• hepat: Relates to the liver.
• my: Pertains to muscle tissue.
• oste: References bones.
• rhin: Refers to the nose.

Pathology & Study Terms

• -pathy: Denotes a disease or disorder.
• -ology: Refers to the study of a particular subject.
• -ologist: Indicates someone who studies a specific field or specialty.

Prefixes Indicating Condition or Location

• a-: Signifies absence or lack of.
• bi-: Refers to two or double.
• inter-: Indicates something existing between or among.
• intra-: Signifies within or inside.
• post-: Refers to after or behind.
• pre-: Indicates before or in front of.
• peri-: Signifies surrounding or around.
• sub-: Refers to under or below.

Terms Relating to Body Systems

• encephal-: Pertains to the brain.
• fibr/o: Refers to fibrous tissue.
• dermat/o: Relates to skin.
• -oma: Denotes a tumor or mass.
• cutane: Refers to skin.
• -ous, -ar, -ic: Indicate a relation to or pertaining to a specific body part.

Sensory & Other Important Terms

• laryng: Refers to the larynx or voice box.
• neur: Relates to nerves.
• opthalm: Pertains to the eyes.
• oto: Refers to the ear.
• -scope: Means to look or observe.
• scapul: Relates to the scapula or shoulder blade.

Color and Other Descriptive Terms

• angi-: Refers to blood vessels.
• ventricul: Pertains to ventricles, small cavities within organs.
• pan-: Indicates encompassing all or entirety.
• men/o: Refers to menstruation or monthly cycles.
• enter: Relates to the small intestine.

Color Indicators

• cyan: Blue.
• erythr/o: Red.
• melan: Black.
• leuk/o: White.
• poli/o: Gray.

Clinical Terminology

• symptom: Subjective evidence of disease, like pain or fatigue.
• syndrome: A collection of signs and symptoms representing a specific condition.
• signs: Objective observations made by clinicians.
• diagnosis: Process of identifying a disease based on clinical evaluation.
• prognosis: Prediction regarding the future course of a disease.
• differential diagnosis: A list of potential conditions based on symptoms and clinical findings.
• acronym: A term formed from the initial letters of a set of words.