Medical Terminology: Chapter 7

Respiratory System Terminology

• nas/o, rhin/o: Refers to the nose; examples include nas/al (pertaining to the nose) and rhin/o/plasty (surgical repair of the nose).

• sept/o: Denotes septum; used in terms such as sept/o/plasty (surgical repair of the septum).

• sinus/o: Indicates sinus or cavity; example: sinus/o/tomy (incision into a sinus).

• adenoid/o: Related to adenoids; key term includes adenoid/ectomy (surgical removal of adenoids).

• tonsill/o: Refers to tonsils; example includes peri/tonsill/ar (pertaining to around the tonsils).

• pharyng/o: Pertains to the pharynx or throat; illustrated by pharyng/o/scope (instrument for examining the pharynx).

• epiglott/o: Connected to the epiglottis; inflammation known as epiglott/itis.

• laryng/o: Concerns the larynx or voice box; example: laryng/o/plegia (paralysis of the larynx).

• trache/o: Involves the trachea or windpipe; example: trache/o/plasty (surgical repair of the trachea).

• bronchi/o, bronch/o: Refers to bronchi (plural of bronchus); terms include bronchi/ectasis (dilation of the bronchi) and bronch/o/scope (instrument for examining the bronchi).

• bronchiol/o: Pertains to bronchioles; illustrated in bronchiol/itis (inflammation of the bronchioles).

• alveol/o: Refers to alveolus or air sac; described in alveol/ar (pertaining to the alveoli).

• pleur/o: Related to pleura; example: pleur/o/centesis (surgical puncture of the pleura).

• pneum/o, pneumon/o: Signifies air or lung; key examples include pneum/ectomy (surgical removal of a lung) and pneumon/ia (inflammation of lung tissue).

• pulmon/o: Indicates lung; pulmon/o/logist (a specialist in lung studies).

• anthrac/o: Pertains to coal or coal dust; represented in anthrac/osis (a condition caused by coal dust).

• atel/o: Means incomplete or imperfect; used in atel/ectasis (imperfect expansion of the lung).

• coni/o: Relates to dust; evident in pneum/o/coni/osis (lung disease due to dust inhalation).

• cyan/o: Refers to blue; example: cyan/osis (abnormal condition causing bluish discoloration).

• lob/o: Denotes lobe; illustrated in lob/ectomy (surgical removal of a lobe).

• orth/o: Indicates straight; terms like ortho/pnea (a breathing condition).

• ox/i, ox/o: Refers to oxygen (O₂); includes ox/i/meter (device for measuring oxygen levels).

• pector/o, steth/o, thorac/o: Related to chest; examples include pector/algia (chest pain) and steth/o/scope (instrument for listening to chest sounds).

• phren/o: Concerns diaphragm or mind; relevant in phren/o/spasm (involuntary diaphragm contraction).

• spir/o: Refers to breath; seen in spir/o/meter (instrument for measuring breathing).

• -capnia: Relates to carbon dioxide (CO₂); hyper/capnia denotes excessive CO₂ levels in the blood.

• -osmia: Indicates smell; an/osmia refers to the absence of the sense of smell.

• -phonia: Pertains to voice; dys/phonia suggests difficulty in speaking or voice changes.

• -pnea: Relates to breathing; a/pnea translates to absence of breathing.

• -ptysis: Indicates spitting; hem/o/ptysis refers to spitting blood.

• -thorax: Signifies chest; example: py/o/thorax refers to pus in the chest cavity.

• brady-: Means slow; brady/pnea indicates slow breathing rate.

• dys-: Indicates bad, painful, or difficult; dys/pnea suggests difficulty in breathing.

• eu-: Refers to good or normal; eu/pnea denotes normal breathing.

• tachy-: Means rapid; tachy/pnea indicates rapid breathing.