Welcome to Medical Terminology, Language of Medicine, Chapter 1. The information in this video is credited to Davi Ellen Chabner, the author of the book, The Language of Medicine, Wikipedia, and many other sources. Chapter 1 is about basic word structure. In this chapter, the goals are, identify basic objectives to guide your study of the medical language. Divide medical words into their component parts. Learn the meanings of basic combining forms.
prefixes, and suffixes of the medical language. And, use these combining forms, suffixes, and prefixes to build medical words. The objective in studying the medical language, analyze words by dividing them into component parts.
Relate the medical terms to the structure and function of the human body. And, be aware of spelling and pronunciation problems. Some medical terms are pronounced alike but are spelled differently, which accounts for their different meanings.
For example, ileum and ileum have identical pronunciations, but the first term, ileum, means a part of the hip bone, red arrow. Ileum, the second term, refers to a part of the small intestine, blue arrow. Other terms that commonly get mixed up are urethra in the blue arrow and ureter in the red arrow. Word analysis is the. Studying medical terminology is very similar to learning a new language.
At first, the word seems strange and complicated. although they may stand for commonly known disorders and terms. For example, cephalgia means headache, and an ophthalmologist is an eye doctor. The first job of learning the language of medicine is to understand how to divide words into their component parts. Logically, most terms, whether complex or simple, can be broken down into basic parts and then understood.
For example, the word hematology is divided into three parts. The three parts are root, combining vowel, and suffix. Hemat means blood.
And logi means process of study. Important elements. Root, foundation of the word.
Suffix, word ending. Prefix, small part attached to the beginning of a term. Combining vowel, vowel, usually o, that links the root to the suffix or the root to another root. And, combining form, root plus combining vowel. It is useful to read the meaning of the medical terms starting from the suffix and then going back to the beginning of the term.
Thus, the term hematology means the process of studying of blood. Let's try another word, electrocardiogram. Electra is a root, means electricity.
Cardi is another root, means heart. Os are combining vowels. And gram is a suffix, means record. Electrocardiogram, reading from the suffix back to the beginning of the term.
means record of the electricity in the heart. Notice that there are two combining vowels, both O in red color above. The first O links the two roots elector and cardi, the second O links the root cardi and the suffix gram. Let's analyze gastritis. Gaster is the root, means stomach.
And itis is the suffix, means inflammation. Please note, drop combining vowel when suffix starts with a vowel, as in itis. Again, gastritis, reading from the end of the term, suffix, to the beginning, means inflammation of the stomach.
And, note that the combining vowel, o, is missing in the term. This is because the suffixitis, begins with a vowel. The combining vowel is dropped before the suffix that begins with a vowel.
However, it is retained between two roots, even if the second root begins with a vowel. Let's do a quick quiz for fun. All medical terms have, a, a combining vowel. b. Two roots.
c. A suffix. d.
A prefix. The answer is c. A suffix.
All medical terms have a suffix. You have not learned this yet but let's try for fun anyway. Which element appears at the beginning of a medical term?
a. Suffix. b. Prefix. c.
Combining vowel. d. Combining form. The answer is b. Prefix.
Okay, let's do some more word analysis. Gastroenterology. Gaster is the root, means stomach.
Enter is also a root, means intestines. Os are combining vowels. And, logi means the process of study.
Putting these together, gastroenterology means the process of studying of the stomach and intestines. Please note, the combining vowel is retained between gastro and enter, even though the second root, enter, begins with a vowel. When a term contains two or more roots related to parts of the body, anatomic position often determines which root goes before the other.
For example, the stomach receives food first before the small intestine, so the word is formed as gastroenterology, not enter gastrology. Remember these three general rules. Read the meaning of medical terms from the suffix back to the beginning of the term and across. Drop the combining vowel, usually o, before a suffix beginning with the vowel, gastritis not gastroitus.
And, keep the combining vowel between two roots, gastroenterology not gastroenterology. You now have learned the root, combining vowel and suffix, as you are familiar with these terms. Hemato means blood, gastro means stomach, and cardio means heart.
Let's learn the prefix next. The prefix is a small part attached to the beginning of a term. Not all medical terms contain prefixes, but the prefix can have an important influence on the meaning.
Consider the following examples, hypogastric. Hypo means below. Gaster means stomach.
Ech means pertaining to. This word means pertaining to below the stomach. Next example is epigastric. Epi means above. Gaster means stomach.
And again, ech means pertaining to. This word means pertaining to above the stomach. Quick summary of word analysis.
The important element of medical terms are the following. Root, foundation of the term. suffix word ending, prefix word beginning, combining vowel, vowel usually o that links the root to the suffix or the root to another root, and combining form, combination of the root and the combining vowel.
Since you have mastered the components of medical terminology, now let's get serious. We are going to learn so many terms that your head will spin. These are the combining forms. Adeno means gland. Adenoma means, tumor of the gland.
The suffix oma, means tumor or mass. Adeno, means gland. Adenitis means, inflammation of a gland.
The suffix itis means inflammation. Arthro, means joint. Arthritis means, inflammation of the joint.
Bio, means life. Biology means, the study of life or living organisms. Carcino, means cancerous or cancer. Carcinoma means cancerous tumor. Carcinoma is cancer that forms in epithelial tissue such as basal cell carcinoma or esophageal carcinoma.
Cardio means heart. Cardiology means the study of the heart. Cephalo means head.
Cephalic means of, in, pertaining or relating to the head. Speaking of the head, take a look at the cerebrum and its functions. Cerebrum is the largest part of the brain. It is divided into two hemispheres, or HABs, called the cerebral hemispheres.
Areas within the cerebrum control muscle functions and also control speech, thought, emotions, reading, writing, and learning. Let's test your knowledge. Which term means inflammation of the gland?
A. Arthritis. B. Adenitis.
C. Adenoma. Or D. C. The answer is. B.
Adenitis. Adeno, means gland. And, itis means inflammation. Let's continue with the combining forms. Cephalo, means head.
Cerebro, means cerebrum, as you just saw in the previous picture. Ciso, means to cut. Crino, means to secrete, to come out, such as a certain gland or glands. Cysto means urinary bladder.
Cyto means cell. Dermo or dermate means skin. Electro means electricity. Encephalo means brain.
and entero means intestines. Quiz time, again. Which term means study of cells?
A. Cystoscopy. B. Cystitis.
C. Cytology. D. Hematology. The answer is C.
Cytology. Cyto means cell. Logi means studying of. Didn't I promise you that your head will spin? Let's do some more.
Erythro means red. Gastro means stomach. Glyco means sugar.
Noso means knowledge. Gynaco means woman female. Hemato or hemo means blood.
This is histology of the red blood cells, white blood cells, and thrombocytes which are platelets. Moving on. Hepato means liver. Iatro means treatment, physician. Leuco means white, such as leukocyte is in the image that we just saw.
Logo means study of. Nephro means kidney. Neuro means nerve. A medical doctor who diagnoses, treats and manages disorders of the brain and nervous system, brain, spinal cord and nerves, is called neurologist. Let's continue.
Onco means tumor. Ophthalmo means eye. Osteo means bone.
Patho means disease. Tito means child. Psycho means mind. Radio means x-rays. Rhino means kidney.
Rhino means nose. Sarco means flesh. Secto means to cut.
Thrumbo means clot. or clotting. Uro means urinary tract, urine.
Ac and al mean pertaining to. Alga means pain. Cite means cell. Ectomy means excision or removal.
This one is too easy for you. Which suffix means to cut out or remove? A. Ectomy.
B. Scopie. C. Itis. D. Opsy.
The answer is A. Ectomy. We just learned in the previous slide.
I am sorry. Just a bit more. You are almost done.
Emya means blood condition. For example, leukemia. Genic means produced by organ. Globin means protein. Gram means record.
Ic or ical means pertaining to. Ion means process. Ist means specialist.
Itis means inflammation. Logi means process of study. Oma means tumor, mass, or swelling. The top picture portrays the hematomas under the nail and from the broken ribs.
The bottom picture shows a sarcoma of the muscles. About 20 more terms and you are done with suffixes. Opsy means process of viewing. Osis means condition, usually abnormal. Pathy means disease condition.
Scope means instrument to visually examine. Skippy means process of visually examining. Sys-means, state of, condition.
Tomy-means, process of cutting, incision. E-means, process, condition. Done with suffixes. Now, let's learn the prefixes.
A-or N-means, no, not, or without. Out or Auto means self-own. Dia means complete or through.
End and O means within. Epi means above upon. Ex exo means out outside of or outward. Hyper. means excessive, above, more than normal.
Hypo means deficient, below, under, less than normal. In means into or in. Piri means surrounding, around.
Pro means before or forward. Ri means back, backward, or again. Retro means behind. Sub means below or under.
Trans means across or through. Let's learn some specialists for chapter one. Who knows one of you will be one of these specialists someday.
Don't forget me when you become one. Cardiologist, an internal medicine specialist who takes additional fellowship training in the diagnosis and treatment of heart diseases. Gynecologist, specializes in surgery and internal medicine to diagnose and treat disorders of the female reproductive system.
Psychiatrist, is a specialist in diagnosing and treating mental illness. Oncologist, an internal medicine specialist who takes fellowship training in the diagnosis and medical drug. Treatment of cancer.
Hematologist, an internal medicine specialist who takes fellowship training in blood disorders. These two usually go together. We call them, hematopoietic doctor. Ophthalmologist, trains in both surgery and internal medicine in order to diagnose and treat disorders of the eye. Neurologist, an internal medicine specialist who takes fellowship training in the diagnosis and treatment of disorders or nervous tissue, brain, spinal cord.
and nerves. Nephrologist, an internal medicine specialist who takes fellowship training in the diagnosis and medical treatment of kidney disease. A nephrologist does not perform surgery on the urinary tract but treats kidney disease with drugs. Gastroenterologist, an internal medicine specialist who takes fellowship training in diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the gastrointestinal tracts. Urologist, a surgeon who operates on organs of the urinary tract.
and the male reproductive system, such as the prostate gland. Urologists also prescribe drugs for some conditions. The pronunciations of these terms are important.
I will have a separate video showing you how to pronoun all the terms in chapter 1. The pronunciations of these terms are important. I will have a separate video showing you how to pronoun these terms. There are many of these pages and exercises in your book. Please complete all of them.
Learning a new language is not easy. Practice makes perfect. The answers and exercises are at the end of the chapter. Please do your homework. Thank you for watching.
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