Medical Terminology: Word Components

Word Components of Medical Terms

• Medical terms can be broken down into word components: prefixes, word roots, and suffixes.
• Prefixes (P) appear at the beginning of a medical term and add meaning to the word root.
• Word roots (WR) are the core of many medical terms and refer to a body part or body system.
• Suffixes (S) are at the end of a medical term and usually indicate a procedure, condition, or disease.

Defining Medical Terms

• When defining a medical term, start the definition with the suffix.
• For example, the medical term "tonsillitis" can be broken down into its components:
  • Word root "tonsil" refers to the tonsils.
  • Suffix "-itis" refers to inflammation.
• Therefore, the definition of "tonsillitis" is "inflammation of the tonsils".

Combining Vowels and Combining Forms

• Combining vowels (CV) are typically the letter "o" and help with pronunciation.
• Combining vowels connect a word root and a suffix or two word roots.
• A word root combined with a combining vowel is referred to as a combining form (CF).

Examples of Word Components

• Table 1.2a shows examples of word components:
  • Word root "hepat" means liver.
  • Prefix "sub-" means below.
  • Suffix "-itis" means inflammation.
  • Combining vowel "o" is used to assist with pronunciation.
  • Combining form "hepat/o" is the word root with a combining vowel.

Defining Medical Terms by Their Components

• The medical term "arthropathy" can be broken down into its components:
  • Word root "arthr-" refers to a joint.
  • Combining vowel "o" creates the combining form "arthro-".
  • Suffix "-pathy" refers to a disease.
• The definition of "arthropathy" is "disease of a joint".