Medical Terminology Lecture Notes

Introduction

• Objective: Learn how to approach medical terminology by breaking down complex terms into manageable pieces.
• Key Strategy: Divide words into components: prefixes, roots, and suffixes.

Importance of Greek and Latin Roots

• Many medical terms are derived from Greek and Latin.
• Recommend keeping a list or dictionary of roots.

Structure of Medical Terms

• Prefix: Modifier at the beginning.
• Root: Core part of the word.
• Suffix: Modifier at the end.

Common Medical Terms and Roots

Related to Body Parts and Conditions

• Osteo: Related to bones (e.g., osteoarthritis, osteocyte).
• Myo/Sarco: Related to muscles (e.g., myofibers, sarcoplasmic reticulum).
• Neuro: Related to nerves (e.g., neuron, neurology).
• Derm: Related to skin (e.g., epidermis, dermatitis).
• Angio: Related to blood vessels (e.g., angioplasty).

Other Body Parts

• Cardio: Heart-related (e.g., cardiology).
• Rhino: Nose-related (e.g., rhinoplasty).
• Tympano: Eardrum related (e.g., tympanic membrane).
• Nephro: Kidney-related (e.g., nephron).
• Cranio: Skull-related (e.g., cranium).
• Ophthalmo/Oculo: Eye-related.
• Auto: Ear-related (e.g., otoliths).
• Thrombo: Blood clot-related (e.g., thrombosis).
• Hepato: Liver-related (e.g., hepatocytes, hepatitis).
• Mammo: Breast-related (e.g., mammography).
• Colo: Related to the large intestine (e.g., colonoscopy).
• Gastro: Stomach-related.
• Ileo: Small intestine related.
• Thoraco: Chest-related (e.g., thoracic wall).
• Pneumo/Pleuro: Lung-related (e.g., pneumonia).

Prefixes Indicating Size

• Macro: Large
• Micro: Small
• Mega/Megalo: Large/enlarged

Rate and Activity Prefixes

• Hyper: Overactive (e.g., hyperthyroid)
• Hypo: Underactive (e.g., hypothyroid)
• Tachy: Fast (e.g., tachycardia)
• Brady: Slow (e.g., bradycardia)

Color Prefixes

• Chloro: Green
• Leuko: White
• Erythro: Red
• Cyano: Blue

Directional Prefixes

• Endo/Intra: Within
• Inter: Between
• Extra: Outside
• Peri: Around
• Trans: Across

Common Testing and Procedure Terms

• Echo: Ultrasonic waves (e.g., echocardiogram)
• Electro: Electric
• Ectomy: Removal
• Gram: Picture
• Graphy: Imaging process

Common Problem and Condition Suffixes

• Dys: Not working properly
• Mal: Bad (e.g., malady)
• Emia: Blood condition
• Itis: Inflammation
• Osis: Condition/disease
• Pathy: Disease (e.g., neuropathy)

Examples of Breaking Down Terms

• Hypercholesterolemia: Hyper (elevated) + Cholesterol + Emia (blood condition)
• Dermatitis: Derm (skin) + Itis (inflammation)
• Colostomy: Colon + Opening

Conclusion

• Overcoming the intimidation of long medical terms by breaking them down.
• Encouragement to continue practice and exposure to terms for increased familiarity.

Closing

• Follow and subscribe to the Penguin Prof Channel for more content.