Chapter 5: Medical Terminology

Introduction

• Importance of understanding medical terminology for EMTs
  • Effective communication and documentation
  • Breaking down terms to understand unknown words
  • Facilitate communication with EMS, healthcare, and public safety systems

Anatomy of a Medical Term

• Components:
  • Word Root: Foundation of the word, indicating body parts/organs
  • Prefix: Occurs before the word root, alters meaning
  • Suffix: Occurs after the word root, indicates procedure/condition
  • Combining Vowel: Joins word roots to other components
• Accurate Spelling: Crucial due to similar-sounding terms e.g., dysphasia vs dysphagia
• Examples:
  • Ilium (pelvis bone) vs Ileum (small intestine part)

Word Roots

• Essential meaning of the word
• Usually indicates a body part, organ, or system
• Examples include 'cardio' (heart) and 'pulmon' (lungs)

Prefixes

• Describes location and intensity
• Alter meaning of the word root
• Examples include 'a-' (without), 'brady-' (slow), 'tachy-' (rapid)

Suffixes

• Indicate procedure, condition, disease, or part of speech
• Common suffix: '-itis' meaning inflammation

Combining Vowels

• Typically ‘o’, but can be ‘i’ or ‘e’
• Eases pronunciation
• Example: gastroenterology

Word Building Rules

1. Prefix is at the beginning (not always present)
2. Suffix is at the end
3. Combining vowel used if suffix begins with a consonant
4. Combining vowel between word roots if term has more than one

Plural Endings

• Rules for changing singular to plural forms:
  1. 'A' to 'AE' (e.g., vertebra to vertebrae)
  2. 'IS' to 'ES' (e.g., diagnosis to diagnoses)
  3. 'EX' or 'IX' to 'ICES' (e.g., apex to apices)
  4. 'ON' or 'UM' to 'A' (e.g., ganglion to ganglia)
  5. 'US' to 'I' (e.g., bronchus to bronchi)

Special Word Parts

• Indicate numbers, colors, positions, and directions
• Use prefixes to alter meanings

Directional Terms

• Used to describe location of injuries or pain
• Examples:
  • Superior/Inferior: Nearer to head/feet
  • Lateral/Medial: Farther from/closer to midline
  • Proximal/Distal: Closer to/farther from trunk
  • Superficial/Deep: Closer to skin/farther inside body

Movement and Position Terms

• Flexion/Extension: Decreasing/increasing joint angle
• Adduction/Abduction: Movement toward/away from midline
• Anatomic Positions: Describe patient position, e.g., prone, supine, Fowler

Breaking Terms Apart

• Define terms by starting from suffix, then prefix, then word root
• Examples:
  • Nephropathy = Disease of the kidney
  • Dysuria = Painful urination

Abbreviations and Symbols

• Used to communicate more rapidly
• Should be standardized to avoid misinterpretation
• Types:
  • Initialisms: Pronouncing each letter (e.g., EMT)
  • Acronyms: Forming a new word (e.g., SAMPLE)
• Use only standard abbreviations

Symbols

• Used similarly to abbreviations
• Should be widely understood and accepted

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Master Tables

• Reference lists of word roots, prefixes, suffixes, and abbreviations provided in Tables 5-9 through 5-12