Overview
This lecture covers common medical prefixes and suffixes that modify meanings related to body location, cellular structures, general terms, conditions, and processes, as well as examples to practice breaking down medical terms.
Location Modifiers
- Axio means axial (relating to the axis/skeleton).
- Cata means down or downward.
- Ech means outside (e.g., ectopic).
- Vent/ventro means toward the front (ventral).
- Dors/dorso means toward the back (dorsal).
- Later/lateral means relating to the side.
- Cod/codo means tail (caudal).
- Meso means middle (e.g., mesoderm).
Cellular Modifiers
- Karyo refers to the nucleus (karyotype).
- Nucleo also refers to the nucleus.
- Poikilo means variation or irregularity (poikilocyte).
- Reticulo refers to network/reticulum (reticulocyte).
- Sphero means sphere-shaped (spherocyte).
General Terms
- Anthropo means human.
- Corp/corpo/corporeal means body.
- Somato/soma refers to the body (somatic).
- Organo means organ.
- Viscer/viscero means internal organs (viscera).
- Chylo means tissue.
- Proteo means protein.
- Pharmaco means drugs/medications (pharmacology).
- Morpho means form or structure.
- Nutri/nutrio means nutrition.
- Physio means nature.
- Lumen/luminal means light.
- Nomen means name.
- Normo means custom/law (normal).
- Spectro means spectrum.
- -Type means class.
- Techno means skill (technique).
- Viro/viral means virus.
- Zygo means union (zygote).
Condition-Related Terms
- Myco means fungus; -mycosis is a disease caused by fungus.
- Onco means cancer or tumor.
- -Poiesis means formation (e.g., hematopoiesis).
- Partum means birth or labor (postpartum).
- Sanitas means health (sanitary).
- Calori means heat (calorie).
- -Coma means deep sleep.
- Gymno means naked.
- Vito means life (vitality).
Process & Modifier Terms
- Acu means needle (acupuncture).
- Anomalo means abnormal or irregular (anomaly).
- Baro means weight or pressure (barometer).
- -Dynia means pain (allodynia).
- Dynamo means strength/power (dynamic).
- Equi means equal (equity).
- Eti/etio means cause (etiology).
- -Labile means unstable.
- Lyo means loosen/dissolve.
- Radio means radiation (radiotherapy).
- Sclero means hardening (sclerosis).
- Schisto means split/fissure (schistocyte).
- Schizo means division (schizophrenia).
- Lucent means light-emitting (translucent).
- Tumesc means swelling (tumescence).
- Tempor means time (temporal).
- -Phoria means feeling (euphoria).
- -Physis/fesis means growth (epiphysis).
- Areno means sand-like.
Word Analysis Examples
- Anthropomorphic: having human characteristics.
- Baroreceptor: pressure receptor.
- Dysphoria: abnormal or negative feeling.
- Radiolucent: allows radiation to pass through (shows up as transparent on x-rays).
- Hematopoiesis: formation of blood.
- Scleroderma: hardening or thickening of the skin.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Prefix — an addition before a word root to modify meaning.
- Suffix — an ending after a word root to modify meaning.
- Ventral — toward the front.
- Dorsal — toward the back.
- Poikilocyte — a cell with irregular shape.
- Baroreceptor — sensor that detects pressure.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Practice breaking down medical terms into their components.
- Review all prefixes and suffixes covered.
- Prepare for a quiz on these modifiers and term analysis.