CHAPTER 1 EXERCISES

A. Complete the following sentences.

1. Word beginnings are called prefixes .

2. Word endings are called suffixes.

3. The foundation of a word is known as the root .

4. A letter linking a suffix and a root, or linking two roots, in a term is the
combining vowel .

5. The combination of a root and a combining vowel is known as the

combining form .

B. Give the meanings of the following combining forms.

cardi/o → heart carcin/o → cancer

aden/o → gland cyst/o → bladder or sac
bi/o → life cyt/o → cell
cerebr/o → brain (cerebrum) derm/o or dermat/o → skin
cephal/o → head encephal/o → brain
arthr/o → joint electr/o → electricity

C. Give the meanings of the following suffixes.

1. -oma → tumor or mass

2. -al → pertaining to
3. -itis → inflammation
4. -logy → study of
5. -scopy → process of visually examining
6. -ic → pertaining to
7. -gram → record or picture
8. -opsy → viewing or examination

D. Divide the Terms and Provide Their Meaning

1. cerebral → cerebr/al → Related to the brain.

 2. biopsy → bi/opsy → Examination of living tissue.
3. adenitis → aden/itis → Inflammation of a gland.
4. cephalic → cephal/ic → Related to the head.
5. carcinoma → carcin/oma → Cancerous tumor.
6. cystoscopy → cyst/o/scopy → Visual examination of the bladder.
7. electrocardiogram → electr/o/cardi/o/gram → Recording of the heart's
electrical activity.
8. cardiology → cardi/o/logy → Study of the heart.
9. electroencephalogram → electr/o/encephal/o/gram → Recording of the
brain’s electrical activity.
10. dermatitis → dermat/itis → Inflammation of the skin.
11. arthroscopy → arthr/o/scopy → Visual examination of a joint.
12. cytology → cyt/o/logy → Study of cells.

E: Meaning of the Combining Forms

1. erythr/o → Red

2. enter/o → Intestine

3. gastr/o → Stomach

4. gnos/o → Knowledge

5. hemat/o → Blood

6. cis/o → To cut

7. nephr/o → Kidney

8. leuk/o → White

9. iatr/o → Treatment

10. hepat/o → Liver

11. neur/o → Nerve

12. gynec/o → Woman

F: Complete the Medical Term Based on Its Meaning

1. white blood cell → leukocyte

2. inflammation of the stomach → gastritis

3. pertaining to being produced by treatment → iatrogenic

4. study of kidneys → nephrology

5. red blood cell → erythrocyte

6. mass of blood → hematoma

7. process of viewing living tissue (using a microscope) → biopsy

8. pain of nerves → neuralgia

9. process of visual examination of the eye → ophthalmoscopy

10. inflammation of the small intestine → enteritis

G: Select the Combining Form to Match Each English Term

1. kidney → ren/o

2. disease → path/o

3. eye → ophthalm/o

4. to cut → sect/o

5. nose → rhin/o

6. flesh → sarc/o

7. mind → psych/o

8. urinary tract → ur/o

9. bone → oste/o

10. x-rays → radi/o

11. clotting → thromb/o

12. tumor → onc/o

H: Underline the Suffix in Each Term and Give Its Meaning

1. ophthalmoscopy → -scopy → Process of viewing the eye.

2. ophthalmoscope → -scope → Instrument for examining the eye.

3. oncology → -logy → Study of tumors.

4. osteitis → -itis → Inflammation of the bone.

5. psychosis → -osis → Abnormal condition of the mind.

6. thrombocyte → -cyte → Clotting cell (platelet).

7. renal → -al → Related to the kidney.

8. nephrectomy → -ectomy → Surgical removal of the kidney.

9. osteotomy → -tomy → Incision into the bone.

 10. resection → -section → Surgical removal.

11. carcinogenic → -genic → Producing cancer.

12. sarcoma → -oma → Malignant tumor of connective tissue.

I. Match the suffix in Column I with its meaning in Column II. Write the
correct meaning in the space provided.

1. -algia: pain

2. -ion: process

3. -emia: blood condition

4. -gram: record

5. -scope: instrument to visually examine

6. -osis: condition, usually abnormal

7. -ectomy: excision, removal (resection)

8. -genic: pertaining to producing, produced by, or produced in

9. -pathy: disease condition

10. -tomy: process of cutting, incision

11. -itis: inflammation

12. -cyte: cell

J. Select from the listed terms to complete the following sentences.

Terms provided:

arthralgia, carcinogenic, cystitis, endocrine, exocrine, hematoma, hepatoma

(hepatocellular carcinoma), enteropathy, iatrogenic, leukemia, leukocytosis,
neuralgia.

1. When Paul smoked cigarettes, he inhaled a __carcinogenic__

substance with each puff.
2. Sally’s sore throat, fever, and chills made her doctor order a white blood
cell count. The results, indicating infection, showed a slight increase in
normal cells, a condition called __________leukocytosis_________.

3. Mr. Smith’s liver enlarged, giving him abdominal pain. His radiologic tests
and biopsy revealed a malignant tumor, or __hepatoma (hepatocellular
carcinoma) ________.

4. Mrs. Rose complained of pain in her hip joints, knees, and shoulders
each morning. She was told that she had painful joints, or
___arthralgia___.

5. Dr. Black was trained to treat disorders of the pancreas, thyroid gland,
adrenal glands, and pituitary gland. Thus, he was an expert in the
_endocrine _ glands.

6. Ms. Walsh told her doctor she had pain when urinating. After tests, the
doctor’s diagnosis was inflammation of the urinary bladder, or
___cystitis___.

7. Elizabeth’s overhead tennis shot hit David in the thigh, producing a large
___hematoma___. His skin looked bruised and was tender.

8. Mr. Bell’s white blood cell count is 10 times higher than normal.
Examination of his blood shows cancerous white blood cells. His diagnosis
is ____leukemia____.

9. Mr. Kay was resuscitated (revived from potential or apparent death) in the
emergency department after experiencing a heart attack. Unfortunately, he
suffered a broken rib as a result of the physician’s chest compressions. This
is an example of a/an ___iatrogenic____ fracture.
 10. After coming back from a trip during which he had eaten unfamiliar
foods, Mr. Cameron had a disease of his intestines called
___enteropathy___.

K. Give the meanings of the following prefixes.

1. dia- → through
2. pro- → before, forward
3. aut-, auto- → self
4. a-, an- → without, lack of
5. hyper- → excessive, above
6. hypo- → below, deficient
7. epi- → above, upon
8. endo- → within
9. retro- → backward
10. trans- → across, through
11. peri- → around
12. ex-, exo- → out, outside
13. sub- → under, below
14. re- → again, back

L. Underline the prefix in the following terms and give the

meaning of the entire term.

1. diagnosis → dia- (through) → Determination of a disease by analyzing

symptoms.
2. prognosis → pro- (before, forward) → Prediction of the outcome of a
disease.
3. subhepatic → sub- (under) → Below the liver.
4. pericardium → peri- (around) → Membrane surrounding the heart.
5. hyperglycemia → hyper- (excessive, above) → High blood sugar
levels.
6. hypodermic → hypo- (under, below) → Below the skin.
7. epigastric → epi- (above, upon) → Region above the stomach.
 8. resection → re- (again, back) → Surgical removal of an organ or tissue.
9. hypoglycemia → hypo- (below, deficient) → Low blood sugar levels.
10. anemia → an- (without, lack of) → Deficiency of red blood cells or
hemoglobin in the blood.

M. Complete the following terms (describing areas of medicine),

based on their meanings as given.

1. study of the urinary tract: urology

2. study of women and women’s diseases: gynecology
3. study of blood: hematology
4. study of tumors: oncology
5. study of the kidneys: nephrology
6. study of nerves: neurology
7. treatment of children: pediatrics
8. study of X-rays in diagnostic imaging: radiology
9. study of the eyes: ophthalmology
10. study of the stomach and intestines: gastroenterology
11. study of glands that secrete hormones: endocrinology
12. treatment of the mind: psychiatry
13. study of disease: pathology
14. study of the heart: cardiology

N. Give the meaning of the underlined word part and then define
the term.

1. cerebrovascular accident → cerebro- (brain) → stroke, affecting blood

vessels of the brain
2. encephalitis → encephal- (brain) → inflammation of the brain
3. cystoscope → cysto- (urinary bladder) → instrument used for visual
examination of the bladder
4. transhepatic → trans- (across, through) → across the liver
5. iatrogenic → iatro- (treatment, physician) → caused by medical
treatment
 6. hypogastric → hypo- (below, deficient) → below the stomach
7. endocrine glands → endo- (within) → glands that secrete hormones
directly into the bloodstream
8. nephrectomy → nephr- (kidney) → surgical removal of a kidney
9. exocrine glands → exo- (outside) → glands that secrete substances
outwardly
10. neuralgia → neur- (nerve) → nerve pain

O. Select from the terms listed below to complete the sentences on the
following page.

Anemia, biopsy, diagnosis, leukemia, nephrologist, neuropathy, oncogenic,

oncologist, osteoarthritis, pathogenic, prognosis, psychiatrist, psychologist,
thrombocyte, thrombosis, urologist.

1. Pamela Crick is 72 years old and suffers from a degenerative joint disease
that is caused by the wearing away of tissue around her joints. This disease,
which literally means “inflammation of bones and joints,” is
____osteoarthritis_______.

2. The _____biopsy_______ sample was removed during surgery and sent to

a pathologist to be examined under a microscope for a proper diagnosis.

3. A/An ___urulogist___ performed surgery to remove Mr. Simon’s cancerous

kidney.

4. Ms. Rose has suffered from diabetes with hyperglycemia for many years.
This condition can lead to long-term complications, such as the disease of
nerves called diabetic ___neuropathy____.

5. A virus or a bacterium produces disease and is therefore a/an

_____pathogenic______ organism.

6. Jordan has a disease caused by abnormal hemoglobin in his erythrocytes.

The erythrocytes change shape, collapsing to form sickle-shaped cells that can
become clots and stop the flow of blood. His condition is called sickle cell
______sickle cell anemia________.

7. Dr. Max Shelby is a physician who treats carcinomas and sarcomas. He is

a/an ____oncologist_____.

8. Bill had difficulty stopping the bleeding from a cut on his face while shaving.
He knew his medication caused him to have decreased platelets, or a low
____thrombocyte____ count, and that probably was the reason his blood was
not clotting very well.

9. Dr. Susan Parker told Paul that his condition would improve with treatment in
a few weeks. She said his ____prognosis_____ is excellent and he can expect
total recovery.

10. After fleeing the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, Mrs. Jones
had many problems with her job, her husband, and her family relationships. She
went to see a ___psychologist___, who prescribed drugs to treat her
depression.

P. Circle the correct term to complete each sentence:

1. Ms. Brody had a cough and fever. Her doctor instructed her to go to the
(pathology, radiology, hematology) department for a chest x-ray examination.

2. After she gave birth to her fourth child, Ms. Thompson had problems holding
her urine (a condition known as urinary incontinence). She made an
appointment with a (gastroenterologist, pathologist, urologist) to evaluate
her condition.

3. Dr. Monroe told a new mother she had lost much blood during delivery of her
child. She had (anemia, leukocytosis, adenitis) and needed a blood
transfusion immediately.

4. Mr. Preston was having chest pain during his morning walks. He made an
appointment to discuss his new symptom with a (nephrologist, neurologist,
cardiologist).
5. After my skiing accident, Dr. Curtin suggested (cystoscopy, biopsy,
arthroscopy) to visually examine my swollen, painful knee.