Medical Terminology: Language of Medicine - Chapter 1
Introduction
Source: Dottie Ellen Chapner, Wikipedia, and other sources.
Focus: Basic word structure in medical terminology.
Chapter Goals
Identify basic objectives in medical language study.
Divide medical words into component parts.
Learn meanings of basic combining forms, prefixes, and suffixes.
Use these elements to build medical words.
Objectives in Studying Medical Language
Analyze words by dividing them into component parts.
Relate terms to human body structure and function.
Spelling and pronunciation problems: Some terms sound alike but have different meanings (e.g., ilium vs. ileum).
Word Analysis
Learning medical terminology is akin to learning a new language.
**Example Terms:
Cephalga (headache)
Ophthalmologist (eye doctor)
Hematology (study of blood)
Components of Medical Terms
Root: Foundation of the word.
Suffix: Word ending.
Prefix: Attached to the beginning of a term.
Combining Vowel: Usually 'o', links root to suffix or another root.
Combining Form: Root plus combining vowel
Word Analysis Strategy
Read medical terms starting from the suffix and then back to the beginning of the term.
Examples:
Hematology: Hemat (blood) + o (combining vowel) + logy (study of) = Study of blood.
Electrocardiogram: Electr (electricity) + o (combining vowel) + cardi (heart) + o (combining vowel) + gram (record) = Record of the electricity in the heart.
Gastritis: Gastr (stomach) + itis (inflammation) = Inflammation of the stomach (combining vowel 'o' dropped).
Quiz Samples
Question: All medical terms have a _?
Answer: c) Suffix.
Question: Which element appears at the beginning of a medical term?
Answer: b) Prefix.
More Examples of Word Analysis
Gastroenterology: Gastr (stomach) + o (combining vowel) + enter (intestines) + o (combining vowel) + logy (study of) = Study of the stomach and intestines.
General Rules
Read from the suffix back to the beginning and across.
Drop the combining vowel before a suffix starting with a vowel (e.g., Gastritis not Gastroitis).
Keep the combining vowel between two roots (e.g., Gastroenterology).
Prefixes
Hypogastric: Hypo (below) + gastr (stomach) = Pertaining to below the stomach.
Epigastric: Epi (above) + gastr (stomach) = Pertaining to above the stomach.
Note: Prefixes have significant influence on term meanings.
Summary of Word Analysis
Root: Foundation of the term
Suffix: Word ending
Prefix: Word beginning
Combining Vowel: Links roots to suffix or another root, usually 'o'.
Combining Form: Combination of root and combining vowel.
Combining Forms
Adeno: Gland
Example: Adenoma (Tumor of the gland)
Arthro: Joint
Example: Arthritis (Inflammation of the joint)
Bio: Life
Example: Biology (Study of life or living organisms)
Carcino: Cancerous
Example: Carcinoma (Cancerous tumor)
Cardio: Heart
Example: Cardiology (Study of the heart)
Cephalo: Head
Example: Cephalic (Relating to the head)
Cerebro: Cerebrum
Cysto: Urinary bladder
Cyto: Cell
Dermo: Skin
Electro: Electricity
Encephalo: Brain
Entero: Intestines
Erythro: Red
Gastro: Stomach
Glyco: Sugar
Gyneco: Woman/Female
Hemato: Blood
Hepato: Liver
Iatro: Treatment/Physician
Leuko: White (e.g., Leukocyte)
Logo: Study of
Nephro: Kidney
Neuro: Nerve
Onco: Tumor
Ophthalmo: Eye
Osteo: Bone
Patho: Disease
Psycho: Mind
Radio: X-rays
Reno: Kidney
Rhino: Nose
Sarco: Flesh
Thrombo: Clotting
Uro: Urinary tract
Suffixes
-ac, -al: Pertaining to
-algia: Pain
-cyte: Cell
-ectomy: Excision or removal (e.g., Appendectomy)
-emia: Blood condition
-genic: Produced by
-gram: Record
-ic, -ical: Pertaining to
-ion: Process
-ist: Specialist
-itis: Inflammation
-logy: Process of study
-oma: Tumor or mass
-opsy: Process of viewing
-osis: Abnormal condition
-pathy: Disease condition
-scope: Instrument to visually examine
-scopy: Process of visually examining
-sis: State of condition
-tomy: Process of cutting, incision
-y: Process or condition
Prefixes Continued
a-, an-: No, not, without
auto-: Self, own
dia-: Complete, through
endo-: Within
epi-: Above
ex-, exo-: Out, outside of
hyper-: Excessive, above normal
hypo-: Deficient, below normal
in-: Into, in
peri-: Surrounding
pro-: Before, forward
re-: Back, again
retro-: Behind
sub-: Below, under
trans-: Across, through
Medical Specialists
Cardiologist: Heart specialist
Gynecologist: Specialist in female reproductive system