Language of Medicine: Medical Terminology for Healthcare Professionals
Introduction
- Medical terminology similar to learning a new language
- Can be challenging especially for beginners
- Requires memorization; consider using flashcards
Goals for Chapter 1
- Identify basic objectives for studying medical language
- Divide medical words into component parts
- Learn meanings of combining forms, prefixes, and suffixes
- Use components to build medical words
Importance of Medical Terminology
- Understanding can be life-saving
- Enables effective communication with patients
- Key to becoming a good healthcare professional
Basic Word Structure
Components of Medical Terms
- Suffixes: End of the term
- Prefixes: Beginning of the term
- Combining Forms: Joining word root with a combining vowel
Key Elements
- Root: Foundation of the word
- Combining Vowel: Links parts, usually "O"
- Combining Form: Root + Combining Vowel
Example Terms
- Hematology
- Root "hema" (blood)
- Suffix "logy" (study)
- Means "study of blood"
- Electrocardiogram
- "Electro" (electricity), "cardio" (heart), "gram" (record)
- Means "record the electricity of the heart"
- Gastritis
- Root "gastro" (stomach)
- Suffix "itis" (inflammation)
- Means "inflammation of the stomach"
Rules for Understanding Medical Terms
- Read from suffix back to the beginning
- Drop combining vowel before a suffix that starts with a vowel
- Keep combining vowel between roots
Example of Prefix Usage
- Hypogastric
- "Hypo" (below), "gastro" (stomach), "ic" (pertaining to)
- Means "pertaining to below the stomach"
Common Combining Forms
- Adeno: Gland
- Arthro: Joint
- Bio: Life
- Carcino: Cancerous
- Cardio: Heart
Important Suffixes
- -algia: Pain
- -ectomy: Excision or removal
- -itis: Inflammation
- -logy: Process of study
- -oma: Tumor
Common Prefixes
- Hyper: Above, excessive
- Hypo: Below, deficient
- Sub: Below
- Trans: Across or through
Conclusion
- Practice regularly and use flashcards
- Understanding prefixes, roots, and suffixes helps in deciphering medical terminology
Create flashcards for practice and ensure understanding of these elements to aid in long-term retention and application in a healthcare setting.