Medical Terminology Chapter 13 Flashcards

Prefixes

• ad-: Indicates movement or direction toward something.
• anti-: Signifies opposition or resistance.
• dia-: Refers to movement through or across.
• dys-: Describes conditions that are bad, abnormal, painful, or difficult.
• pan-: Means all or entire.
• peri-: Pertains to something being around or about.
• re-, retro-: Denotes backward movement or return.

Root Words: Anatomy and Physiology

• abdomin/o: Relates to the abdomen or abdominal cavity.
• an/o: Refers specifically to the anus.
• appendo/o: Pertains to the appendix and means to hang onto.
• bil/i: Indicates bile, a digestive fluid.
• cec/o: Refers to the blind intestine or cecum.
• celi/o: Denotes the abdomen or abdominal cavity.
• cheil/o: Refers to the lip.
• chol/e: Indicates bile or gall.
• coledoch/o: Relates to the common bile duct.
• cirrh/o: Describes an orange color.
• colo/o, colon/o: Refers to the colon.
• dent/o: Pertains to teeth.
• diverticul/o: Relates to a small blind pouch known as a diverticulum.
• duoden/o: Refers to the duodenum, the first part of the small intestine.
• enter/o: Indicates the small intestine.
• esophag/e, esophag/o: Relates to the gullet or esophagus.
• gastr/o: Refers to the stomach.
• gingiv/o: Pertains to the gums.
• gloss/o: Indicates the tongue.
• halit/o: Associated with breath.
• hepat/o: Refers to the liver.
• hern/o, herni/o: Indicates a rupture or protrusion through a weakened membrane or wall.
• hemorrh/o: Describes something that is likely to bleed.
• ile/o: Refers to the ileum, the last part of the small intestine.
• inguin/o: Pertains to the groin.
• jejun/o: Indicates the jejunum, the second part of the small intestine.
• lapar/o: Refers to the abdomen.
• lingu/o: Another term for tongue.
• lith/o: Describes a stone, often in a medical context.
• or/o: Refers to the mouth.
• palat/o: Pertains to the roof of the mouth or palate.
• pancreat/o: Relates to the pancreas.
• peps/o, pept/o: Associated with digestion.
• perine/o: Refers to the perineum.
• peritone/o: Means to stretch over and relates to the peritoneum, the lining of the abdominal cavity.
• phag/o: Indicates the act of eating or swallowing.
• pharyng/o: Refers to the throat or pharynx.
• polyp/o: Relates to a small growth known as a polyp.
• proct/o: Refers to the rectum and anus.
• pylor/o: Means gatekeeper, referring to the pylorus of the stomach.
• rect/o: Indicates straight, erect, or rectum.
• rubin/o: Describes a red pigment.
• sial/o: Relates to saliva.
• sigmoid/o: Refers to the sigmoid colon, shaped like the letter S.
• spasm/o: Indicates sudden, involuntary muscle contraction.
• steat/o: Relates to fat.
• stomat/o: Refers to the mouth.
• uvul/o: Pertains to the uvula, which is grape-like.

Suffixes

• -cele: Indicates a hernia, swelling, or protrusion.
• -centesis: Refers to surgical puncture to aspirate fluids.
• -emesis: Describes the act of vomiting.
• -emetic: Pertaining to something that induces vomiting.
• -iasis: Indicates a condition or process.
• -malacia: Refers to softening of tissue.
• -pepsia: Denotes a condition related to digestion.
• -ptosis: Refers to falling down or drooping.
• -rrhaphy: Indicates suturing or stitching.
• -rrhea: Refers to excessive discharge.
• -stomy: Indicates the surgical creation of an opening.