Medical Terminology: Key Word Parts and Definitions

Medical Terminology: Key Word Parts and Definitions

Pain and Difficulty

• -algia: refers to pain or a painful condition, e.g. neuralgia
• dys-: means bad, difficult, or painful, e.g. dysentery

Surgical Procedures

• ectomy: surgical removal, cutting out, or excision, e.g. tracheoectomy
• -otomy: means cutting, surgical incision, e.g. tracheotomy
• -plasty: means surgical repair, e.g. osteoplasty (oste: bone)
• -ostomy: the surgical creation of an artificial opening to the body surface, e.g. colostomy

Abnormal Conditions

• hyper-: means excessive, increased, e.g. Hyperthyroidism
• hypo-: means deficient, decreased, e.g. Hypothyroidism
• -itis: means inflammation, e.g. hepatitis
• -osis: means abnormal condition, disease, e.g. tuberculosis
• -sclerosis: means abnormal hardening, e.g. arteriosclerosis

Fluid and Bleeding

• -rrhage: means bleeding, abnormal excessive fluid discharge, e.g. hemorrhage
• -rrhaphy: means surgical suturing (stitching), e.g. gastrorrhaphy
• -rrhea: means flow or discharge, e.g. gonorrhea
• -rrhexis: means rupture, e.g. myorrhexia (muscles rupture)

Learn the meanings of common prefixes and suffixes in medical terminology, including -algia, dys-, ectomy, hyper-, hypo-, -itis, -osis, and -ostomy.