what is a hysterosalpingo oophorectomy let's face it understanding medical terminology can seem like a daunting task at first and in reality there is no possible way for anyone to memorize all of the words in a medical dictionary so what is a hysterosalpingo oophorectomy believe it or not there is a simple way to learn and understand these kinds of words most words like this are simply a combination of different parts or elements which include prefixes suffixes and word roots prefixes are syllables or elements placed at the beginning of a word root it is used to make the word more specific [Music] suffixes are syllables or elements placed at the end of a word root and is used to indicate or describe a condition of the body and an action to a body part such as ectomy which is the procedure of surgically removing an organ and word roots are the main elements within the medical term of which prefixes suffixes and connecting vowels are added to these elements can be identified by specific characters a root word will be followed by a forward slash a suffix will follow a hyphen and a prefix will precede a hyphen although these elements can be identified by these specific characters the best way to be sure is through practice by learning the meaning to word roots and the meaning of suffixes and prefixes learning this course will also enhance your ability to score better in the english portion of the sat test and other similar tests such as a-c-t root words are frequently associated with a body part a word root is always the subject or main topic of the medical term for example heart [Music] word root for heart is cardi cardo or even cardio the slash is where the connecting vowel attaches to the root an example cardiomegaly the method for deciphering a medical term is that you start with the last word part and work yourself up through each element until you get to the first element of the term which would most likely be a prefix so you would need to decipher first the suffix in this case being megaly megaly means enlargement the next element is the main element of the term which is called the word root cardio which means heart the complete meaning for this term cardiomegaly is enlargement of the heart you can then say this term is indicating that the heart is larger than normal let's take a look at another example appendicitis word root is append which is the appendix the suffix is itis meaning inflammation or inflammation of appendicitis is the inflammation of the appendix if you add the prefix pseudo to appendicitis you get the word pseudoappendicitis pseudo means false pseudoappendicitis is a false inflammation of the appendix the prefix typically serves to further define a word root when prefixes suffixes or word roots are joined together vowels can be added for pronunciation purposes this is called combining form vowels of course there are always exceptions but the general rules are a combining vowel is used when the suffix begins with a consonant as with the word encephalogram a combining vowel is not used when the suffix begins with a vowel as in encephalitis and a combining vowel can also be used when two or more word roots are joined together such as with pseudo-appendicitis keep in mind the use of combining form vowels which is typically the vowel o is primarily used for the sake of being able to pronounce the medical term not so much for the sake of proper grammar the combining form vowels neither adds nor does it subtract from the term's meaning let's take a look at one last example this one is a little more of a challenge the original word that we looked at hysterosalpingoaphorectomy what a mouthful and very important to note if you are not aware of the meaning of a medical term it can be very intimidating when medical personnel use terms like this medical personnel need to always remember that most people do not know what these terms mean under practicing medical ethics it is very important that you use words or descriptions that the patient or client understands what does hysterosalpingophorectomy mean let's follow the formula provided earlier first let's break down the term into elements these are prefixes suffixes and word roots here's the breakdown beginning from the right and moving to the left ectomy which means surgical removal o aforo is a root word for ovaries salpingo is a root word for fallopian tubes and then the last element is hystero a root word for uterus continuing the pattern on how to decipher a medical term reading from right to left surgical removal of ovaries fallopian tubes and uterus it is now possible to understand the medical term hysterosalpingo-oepherectomy this term is a description of a medical procedure commonly known as a hysterectomy just because these words may look intimidating doesn't mean that they have to be simply learning basic prefixes suffixes and word roots will enable you to understand a lot of terminology you would have never imagined before a very proven method of learning the meaning of prefixes suffixes and word roots is by using flashcards very simple to do watch you can place a prefix suffix or word root on the front of a card and the meaning on the back this easy study method is a great tool in learning medical terminology but the best way to learn anything is to apply it throughout this series of videos as you learn about the anatomy and physiology of the human body you will be applying your knowledge of medical terms by learning them according to organ systems follow us at cteskills.com for more lessons in medical terminology