Chapter 5: Medical Terminology Lecture

Objectives

• Understand and use medical terms and abbreviations in communication.
• Identify components of medical terminology.
• Define unknown medical terms by dissecting components.
• Identify error-prone medical abbreviations.
• Learn common directional, movement, and positional terms.

Importance of Medical Terminology

• Essential for effective communication and documentation.
• Helps in understanding key terms, symbols, and abbreviations.
• Facilitates communication with EMS healthcare and public safety teams.

Anatomy of Medical Terminology

• Medical terms have distinct parts:
  • Word Root: Foundation of the word, often indicates a body part.
  • Prefix: Occurs before the word root, describes location or intensity.
  • Suffix: Occurs after the word root, indicates procedure, condition, disease, or part of speech.
  • Combining Vowels: Join word roots to other components, often 'o'.

Word Roots

• Main part of a word, conveys essential meaning.
• Can indicate a body part.

Prefixes

• Appears at the beginning of the word.
• Describes location or intensity.

Suffixes

• Placed at the end of words.
• Indicates procedure, condition, disease, or part of speech.

Combining Vowels

• Connects word root to suffix or another word root.
• Usually 'o', but can be 'i' or 'e'.

Word Building Rules

• Prefix: Beginning of the term.
• Suffix: End of the term.
• Combining vowel: Used to ease pronunciation.

Plural Endings

• Singular words change to plural forms:
  • Ends in 'a': Change to 'ae'.
  • Ends in 'is': Change to 'es'.
  • Ends in 'ex' or 'ix': Change to 'ices'.
  • Ends in 'on', 'um', 'us': Change to 'a', 'i' respectively.

Special Word Parts

• Numbers: Indicate quantity.
• Colors: Indicate color, e.g., cyano (blue).
• Positions/Directions: Indicate location.

Directional Terms

• Right/Left: Refers to patient's right and left.
• Superior/Inferior: Towards the head/feet.
• Lateral/Medial: Away/towards the midline.
• Proximal/Distal: Closer to/further from the trunk.
• Superficial/Deep: Closer to/away from the skin.
• Ventral/Dorsal: Front/back of the body.
• Palmar/Plantar: Palm of hand/sole of foot.
• Apex: Tip of a structure.

Movement Terms

• Flexation/Extension: Bending/straightening a joint.
• Adduction/Abduction: Moving towards/away from midline.

Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Symbols

• Used for faster communication.
• Only use commonly understood ones.
• Authorities provide 'do not use' lists for clarity and safety.

Review Questions

• Word Root conveys essential meaning.
• Prefixes indicate colors, numbers, positions, directions.
• Plural form of bronchus is bronchi.
• Superior means closer to the head.
• Movement towards midline is adduction.
• Medial lies closer to the midline.
• Ventral refers to anterior aspect.
• Semi-Fowler: Patient at 45-degree angle.
• Plantar Surface: Sole of the foot.
• EMTs should be familiar with standard abbreviations and use medically accepted ones.

Thank you for joining the medical terminology lecture!