Medical Terminology: Roots, Prefixes, Suffixes

• Medical terms are constructed from prefixes, Greek or Roman root words, and suffixes.

Deciphering Constructed Terms

• Identify the suffix meaning first.
• Identify the prefix meaning second.
• Identify the root word meaning third.
• Combine all three parts.

Example Term

• MICRO/SCOP/IC
• "micro" means "small" (prefix).
• "scop" means "viewing instrument" (root).
• "ic" means "pertaining to" (suffix).

Combining Vowels

• A combining vowel (usually 'o', 'i', or 'e') connects a root word to a suffix (or another root word) starting with a consonant.
• Example: HEM/O/PHILIA, where HEM means "blood" (root), O is the combining vowel, and PHILIA means "love of" (suffix).

Nonconstructed Medical Terms

• Terms derived from other languages, names of people, initials (acronyms), or abbreviations.
• These terms require memorization.

Medical Root Words

• ERYTHR: Red
• FUSION: Merger or blending
• GLOBIN: Protein
• HEM or HEMAT: Blood
• IMMUN: Exempt or immunity
• LEUK: White
• LYMPH: Clear water or fluid
• NECR: Death
• NUCLE: Kernel or nucleus
• PHYLAXIS: Protection
• SEPT: Putrefying; wall
• THROMB: Clot
• TOX: Poison

Medical Prefixes

• AN-: Without or absence of
• ANA-: Up or toward
• ANTI-: Against or opposite of
• MAL-: Bad
• MONO-: One
• TRANS-: Across

Medical Suffixes

• -EMIA: Condition of blood
• -IA: Condition of
• -IC: Pertaining to
• -LYSIS: Loosen or dissolve
• -OLOGY: Study or science of
• -OMA: Tumor
• -OSIS: Condition of
• -PATHY: Disease
• -PENIA: Abnormal reduction in number or deficiency
• -PHILIA: Loving, love of, or affinity for
• -RRHAGE: Profuse bleeding; hemorrhage

Hematology

• The field of medicine focuses on blood-related diseases.
• A hematologist is a physician specializing in blood diseases.

Medical Terms, Signs, & Symptoms

• Erythropenia: Abnormally reduced number of red blood cells.
• Leukopenia: Abnormally reduced number of white blood cells.
• Hemolysis: Rupture of red blood cells, may occur if a transfusion is incompatible.
• Hemorrhage: Abnormal loss of blood, often due to trauma or illness.

Diseases and Disorders

• Anaphylaxis: Life-threatening, immediate reaction to a foreign substance.
• Anemia: Reduced number of red blood cells or their oxygen-carrying ability.
• Dyscrasia: Abnormal condition of the blood.
• Edema: Leakage of fluid from the bloodstream into the interstitial space, resulting in swelling.
• Hematoma: Mass of blood outside vessels, often clotted; a bruise.
• Hemoglobinopathy: Disease affecting hemoglobin (e.g., sickle cell anemia).
• Hemorrhagic Fever: Infectious disease causing internal bleeding and high fevers (e.g., ebola).
• Hemophilia: Inherited disorder with a deficiency in blood-clotting proteins, leading to excessive bleeding.
• Hodgkin’s Disease: Malignant cancer of lymphatic tissue with enlarged lymph nodes and immune deficiency.
• Immunodeficiency: Insufficient lymphocytes to fight infections, leading to being immunocompromised.
• Inflammation: Edema, redness, heat, and pain.
• Leukemia: Cancer originating in the bone marrow producing abnormal white blood cells.
• Malaria: Infectious disease caused by parasitic bacteria transmitted by mosquitoes.
• Mononucleosis: Virus-induced disease marked by enlarged lymph nodes and spleen, typically transmitted via saliva.
• Necrosis: Death of cells or tissue; may result from injury, frostbite, or lack of circulation.
• Septicemia: Presence of bacteria and toxins in the blood, commonly referred to as blood poisoning.
• Thrombosis: Presence of blood clots that may block arteries or veins.

Treatments and Procedures

• Anticoagulant: Prevents blood clotting, e.g., warfarin (Coumadin).
• Patients on anticoagulants should wear medical alert bracelets.
• Attenuation: Process of weakening a pathogen to reduce its infectiousness, used in vaccines.
• Transfusion: Process of restoring blood volume through introducing blood into the body.
• Homologous: Donor blood for transfusion.
• Autologous: Patient's own blood for transfusion.

Abbreviations

• AIDS: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; caused by HIV, attacks helper T cells.
• CBC: Complete Blood Count; a laboratory test providing diagnostic health information, including RBC and WBC counts.
• HCT or Hct: Hematocrit; measures the percentage of red blood cells in a blood sample after centrifugation.
• HGB: Hemoglobin; protein in red blood cells responsible for oxygen transport.
• PLT: Platelet Count; calculates the number of platelets in blood, indicators of hemostasis ability.