Medical Terminology: Word roots

• Word roots and combining forms are essential for understanding medical terminology

Word Roots

• Oste/o means bone
• Arthr/o means joint
• My/o means muscle
• Cardi/o means heart
• Rhin/o means nose
• Pulmon/o means lung
• Gastr/o means stomach
• Hepat/o means liver
• Nephr/o means kidney
• Cyst/o means urinary bladder
• Encephal/o means brain
• Neur/o means nerve
• Ot/o means ear
• Ophthalm/o means eye
• Dermat/o means skin
• Aden/o means gland
• Thyroid/o means thyroid gland
• Pancreat/o means pancreas
• Orchid/o means testes
• Hyster/o means uterus
• Oophor/o means ovaries
• Enter/o means small intestine
• Cyan/o means blue
• Erythr/o means red
• Leuk/o means white
• Melan/o means black
• Poli/o means gray

Important Word Parts

• '-ology' signifies the study of something
• Cardiology is the study of the heart
• '-ologist' means specialist
• A cardiologist is a specialist in diagnosing and treating the heart
• '-path/o' indicates disease
• Pathology is a branch of medical science focused on the study of disease

Noun Endings

• Common noun endings include -a, -e, -um, -us, and -y

Suffixes

• '-ac', '-al', '-ary', '-ical', '-ic', '-ous', and '-tic' mean "pertaining to"
• '-esis', '-ia', '-ion', '-ism', '-osis', '-iasis', and '-ago' indicate "abnormal condition or disease"

Pathology Related Terms

• '-algia' signifies pain and suffering
• '-dynia' means pain
• '-itis' means inflammation
• '-megaly' indicates enlargement

Procedure Related Terms

• '-gram' signifies a picture or record
• '-graphy' signifies the process of producing a picture or record
• '-scopy' signifies visual examination
• '-centesis' signifies surgical puncture to remove fluid for diagnosis or therapeutic purposes

Prefixes (Direction, Quantity, Size, and Amount)

• 'Ex-' means out of, outside, away from
• 'In-' means in, into, not, without
• 'Macro-' means large, abnormal size, or long
• 'Micro-' means small
• 'Pre-' means before
• 'Post-' means after

Contrasting Prefixes

• 'Dys-' means bad, painful, or difficult
• 'Eu-' means good, normal, well, or easy
• 'Hyper-' means excessive or increased
• 'Hypo-' means deficient or decreased
• 'Inter-' means between or among
• 'Intra-' means within or inside
• 'Sub-' means under, less, or below
• 'Super-'/'Supra-' means above or excessive