Medical Terminology for Pharmacy Technicians

In this session, we delve into the world of medical terminology, a fundamental aspect of pharmacy technology.

Key Components of Medical Terms

1. Roots

• Definition: The building blocks of medical terms, identifying the primary meaning.
• Examples:
  • Arter: Refers to artery
  • Cardi: Relates to heart
  • Derma: Means skin (as in dermatologist)
  • Hemo: Means blood (as in hemoglobin)
  • Arthro: Means joints (as in arthritis)
  • Gluco: Means sugar (as in glucose)
  • Ophthalm: Means eyes

2. Prefixes

• Definition: Attach to the beginning of root words, adding specific meanings.
• Examples:
  • Anti-: Meaning against (as in antibiotic)
  • Brady-: Referring to slow
  • Hyper-: Means above
  • Hypo-: Means below
  • Macro-: Meaning large
  • Poly-: Referring to many

3. Suffixes

• Definition: Attach to the end of root words, altering the meaning.
• Examples:
  • -algia: Means pain
  • -emia: Indicates blood condition
  • -eia, -ism, -i: Refers to pertaining to
  • -oma: Means tumor
  • -sclerosis: Indicates hardening
  • -uria: Meaning urine

Analyzing Medical Terms

Example 1: Osteoarthritis

• Root: Arthro (joint)
• Prefix: Osteo (bones)
• Suffix: -itis (inflammation)
• Meaning: Inflammation of the joints

Example 2: Bradycardia

• Root: Cardi (heart)
• Prefix: Brady (slow)
• Suffix: -ia (pertaining to)
• Meaning: A condition indicating a slow heart rate

Example 3: Hyperglycemia

• Root: Gluco (sugar)
• Prefix: Hyper (above)
• Suffix: -emia (blood condition)
• Meaning: High levels of glucose or sugar in the blood

Moving Forward

• Continue learning about General Pharmacy abbreviations and Sig codes in upcoming sessions to become proficient pharmacy technicians.