Medical Terminology Suffixes Flashcards

Study Notes

Medical Terminology Suffixes

-or: Indicates one who performs a specific action or function. Commonly seen in medical professions.
-orrhea: Refers to flow or discharge, such as in conditions like diarrhea (abnormal flow of bowel contents).
-osis: Signifies a condition or disease, often used to describe abnormal states, e.g., fibrosis (condition of abnormal scarring).
-ous: Pertains to or relates to something, often used to describe the characteristics of tissues or substances, e.g., mucous (relating to mucus).
-para: Indicates the ability to bear offspring, often used in obstetrics to describe the number of pregnancies.
-paresis: Describes partial paralysis, indicating weakness in the voluntary muscle movement, e.g., hemiparesis (weakness on one side of the body).
-pathy: Means disease or suffering, frequently used in terms like neuropathy (disease affecting nerves).
-penia: Denotes deficiency, lack of, or decrease, commonly seen in conditions like leukopenia (decrease in white blood cells).
-pexy: Stands for fixation, often used in surgical terminology to indicate securing an organ or tissue in place, e.g., nephropexy (fixation of a displaced kidney).
-phagia: Refers to eating or swallowing, seen in conditions such as dysphagia (difficulty swallowing).
-phasia: Relates to speech, often used in neurological contexts like aphasia (loss of ability to understand or express speech).
-philia: Indicates attraction or affinity for, used in terms like hemophilia (blood's inability to clot).
-phobia: Represents fear, often associated with medical terms describing irrational fears, e.g., arachnophobia (fear of spiders).
-physis: Indicates the process of growth, particularly in developmental biology and medicine.
-plasia: Refers to formation or growth of tissues, often used in terms like hyperplasia (increased growth of cells).
-plasm: Similar to -plasia, signifies growth or formation, often used to describe the material within cells, e.g., cytoplasm (material within a living cell).

Description

This quiz covers important medical terminology suffixes that are essential for understanding anatomy and healthcare concepts. Each card presents a suffix along with its definition, aiding in the comprehension of medical terms. Perfect for students in medical, nursing, or allied health fields.