- Chapter 1
Slash all words according to how the elements are presented in this
class. Appendix A,
Page 483, will be used
as this classs reference point.
purpose of this portion of the course is to provide a vocabulary which will
assist you in communicating properly between doctors and patients, and to help
in understanding the scientific literature.
- A medical term is a word or phrase made up of elements to express a specific
A word part used to form a medical term.
All elements in a medical term are essential to its meaning.
Each element is a medical term has its own meaning. The book describes
these as Word
Roots. Word Roots are
presented in Bold/Magenta in the book.
= Medical Term
refers to a tumor of glandular material of the kidney.
are 3 types of elements:
- The main element within a Medical Term. Often
there is more than one root element within the medical term.
The root element is always the subject or main topic of the medical term.
Roots frequently refer to a body
Term = Medical term w/ Prefix
- an element at the end of a medical term (after the root element) which
frequently describes a condition of a body part or an action to a body part.
Can also refer to a Procedure, Condition, Disorder or Disease
- a combining vowel (usually O or I and less frequently U) is used between two
elements of a medical term to make the term easier to pronounce.
Occasionally the other vowels may be used.
With combining vowel: hepatomalacia (hepat/o/malcia)
of word terminals:
(pertaining to) Noun
be certain that you are accurately interpreting a medical term, always refer to
an authoritative medical dictionary. Failure to do this may result in the
inaccurate in interpretation of medical terms.
cardiectomy (cardi=heart, ectomy=surgical removal of all or part of)
one might reasonably (but inaccurately) assume that cardiectomy means surgical
removal of all or part of the heart. To
quote one authoritative source, cardiectomy means "surgical removal of the
upper end of the stomach.)
The meaning of this medical term was probably derived from the fact that
the upper end of the stomach is the cardiac end or the end toward the heart.
In any case, it clearly emphasizes the importance of referring to an
authoritative medical dictionary rather than accepting the literal
interpretation of a medical term.
people like to start at the end of the word and work towards the beginning;
Others like to start at the beginning of a word and work towards the end;
it both ways. As you begin to
learn this new vocabulary, the process will become easier and make more
sense. Always remember to use a
good Medical Dictionary as the final judge.
for using Combining Vowels:
combining vowel is not used when the suffix begins with a vowel (A-E-I-O-U)
Combining Vowel is used when the suffix begins with a Consonant
Combining Vowel is Always used when 2 or more root elements are joined
Prefix does not require a combining vowel.
Do not place a combining vowel between a prefix and the word root
gives examples of Suffixes:
related to Pathology
path/ology pertaining to disease or illness
Cardi/ac pertaining to the heart
Crani/um portion of the skull that encloses the brain
Gastr/osis Disease of the stomach
Gastr/algia pain in the stomach
Gastr/o/dynia pain in the stomach
Gastr/itis inflammation of the stomach
Arteri/o/malacia abnormal softening of the walls of an artery
Hepat/o/megaly abnormal enlargement of the liver
Arteri/o/necrosis tissue death of an artery
Arteri/o/sclerosis abnormal hardening of the walls of an artery
Arteri/o/stenosis abnormal narrowing of an artery
related to Procedures
Abdomin/o/centesis surgical puncture of the abdominal cavity
Append/ectomy surgical removal of the appendix
Angi/o/graphy x-ray study of the blood vessels
Angi/o/gram film produced by angiography
My/o/plasty surgical repair of a muscle
Endo/scopy visual examination of the interior of a body cavity or organ
are suffixes, referred to as the double RRs which are grouped together in
the book to avoid confusion:
Hem/o/rrhage loss of a large amount of blood
My/o/rrhaphy to suture a muscle wound
Dia/rrhea abnormally frequent loose or watery stools
My/o/rrhexis rupture of a muscle
Pre/nat/al time and events before birth
Peri/nat/al time and events surrounding birth (just before, during and after)
Post/nat/al time and events after birth
prefixes are confusing because they are similar in spelling but opposite in
meaning. The more common prefixes of
this type are summarized in Table
1.4, page 8.
away from / ad- toward or in the
bad, difficult, painful / eu- good,
normal well, or easy
excessive or increased / hypo-
deficient or decreased
between or among / intra- within or
under, less or below / super-, supra-
above or excessive
for Slashing and determining meanings of Medical Words
Always start at the end
of the word, with the Suffix and work toward the beginning;
As you separate the word
parts, identify the meaning of each. Identifying
the meaning of each part should give you a definition of the term;
Because some word parts
have more than one meaning, it also is necessary to determine the context in
which the term is being used (i.e., which Body System more on this in
Always use a Medical
Dictionary to double-check any definition.
of Medical Terms is very important
. Again, always use a medical Dictionary if
you are not sure about the spelling of a Medical term.
a medical term is easier to understand and remember whey you know how to
pronounce it properly. Frequently
there may be more than one correct way to pronounce a medical term.
Many Medical terms are based on their Greek, Latin or other origins.
The current trend is to pronounce them as they sound in English.
are frequently used as a shorthand way to record long and complex medical terms.
in the back of the book (Page
501) contains an alphabetized list of many of the more commonly used
and Plural Endings
medical terms have Greek or Latin origins, as previously mentions.
As a result of these different origins, there are unusual rules for
changing a singular word into a plural form Table 1.6, Page 11, provides guidelines to help you better
understand how these plurals are formed.
the term ends in a,
the plural is usually formed by adding an e
the term ends in ex
or ix, the plural is usually formed by changing
the ex or ix
the term ends in is,
the plural is usually formed by changing the is
the term ends in itis,
the plural is usually formed by changing the is
the term ends in nx,
the plural is usually formed by changing the x
the term ends in on,
the plural is usually formed by changing the on
the term ends in um,
the plural usually is formed by changing the um
the term ends in us,
the plural is usually formed by changing the us
Medical Terms and Word parts
like in the English language, there are commonly used Medical terms that sound
alike, but have different meanings:
pertaining to the interior or lining of an artery
fatty deposit within the wall of an artery
pain in a joint
surgically create and artificial opening
cutting into or a surgical incision
1.7, Page 12,
lists some commonly used Medical Terms used to describe diseases and abnormal
evidence of a disease, such as a fever.
A sign is Objective, because it can be evaluated or measured by
such as pain, is Subjective, as it can be evaluated or measured only by
is a set of the signs and symptoms that occur together as part of a
specific disease process
the identification of a disease
to determine which one of several disease may be producing the symptoms
- is a forecast or prediction of
the probable course and outcome of a disorder
has a rapid onset and usually a severe course of short duration
has a longer onset period and last for a long duration
the partial or complete disappearance of the symptoms of a disease
without having achieved a cure
a disease structure, operation or procedure named for the person who
first discovered or described it. (Alzheimers
is a word formed from the initial letter or letters of the major parts
of a compound term. (Laser
stands for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation.)
is the invasion of the body by a pathogenic (disease producing)
organism. Infections can be
local in area or systemic (affecting the entire body).
is a localized response to injury or destruction of tissues.
Some basic (Cardinal) signs or indications that Inflammation is
present include: redness, heat, swelling, pain. (-itis is the suffix Element)
a torn or ragged wound
a pathologic change of the tissues due to disease or injury
an examination technique in which the examiners hands are used to
fell the body.
is a pounding or racing heart
refers to a male gland
means to collapse and be lying flat or to be overcome with exhaustion
act of rotating a body part/joint so that the body part is forward or
is the formation or discharge of pus
is the act of closing a wound or incision by stitching or a similar
is the act of binding or tying off blood vessels or ducts
is the medical screening of patient to determine their relative priority
of need and the proper place of treatment.
Another words, which patients have the more serious conditions and
need treatment first.
means a wound or an injury.
means pertaining to a virus
means possessing masculine traits
1.8, Page 15
lists some common abbreviations for the Elements/Medical words presented in