MEDICAL
TERMINOLOGY
WEEK 1- BASIC WORD
STRUCTURE
OBJECTIVES
¡ Analyze a medical word into component parts or fundamental
elements.
¡ Understand guidelines that will assist you with the building of
medical words.
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WORD ANALYSIS
¡ Root: Foundation/meaning of the term.
¡ Suffix: Word ending.
¡ Prefix: Word beginning.
¡ Combining vowel: Vowel that links the root to the suffix or the root to another root.
¡ Combining form: Combination of the root and the combining vowel.
¡ When analyzing a medical term, begin at the end (suffix), and then go back to the beginning and
across
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WORD ANALYSIS
HEMAT- O/ -LOGY
¡ HEMATOLOGY
Combining
Root Suffix
vowel
The study of blood (conditions or diseases)
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WORD ROOTSà GIVES THE ESSENTIAL MEANING OF THE TERM
leuk= white Erythr= red
Melan= dark/black Cyan= blue
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A suffix is a letter or syllable at the end of a word which adds
SUFFIX à meaning to the word. When reading or breaking down a medical
term, we usually begin with the suffix.
SURGICAL
DISEASES CONDITION DIAGNOSES
PROCEDURES
-itis, -ectomy, surgical -algia, -megaly,
inflammation removal pain enlargement
-oma, -sclerosis,
-scopy, visual
tumor or -rrhage, excessive flow
examination hardening
mass
-osis, abnormal -penia, -malacia,
-tomy, cutting into
condition deficiency softening
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A connector between
roots and roots, and roots
COMBINING VOWELS and suffixes.
ELECTROCARDIOGRAM
ECG/EKG
ELECTR- O/ O/ -GRAM
CARDI-
Root Root Suffix
Combining vowel
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record of the electrical activity of the heart
*The combining
GASTRITIS vowel is
dropped before
a suffix that
GASTR- + -ITIS begins with a
vowel.
Root Suffix
inflammation of the stomach
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*A combining
GASTROSCOPE vowel is used
before a suffix
that begins with
GASTR- O/ -SCOPE
a consonant.
Combining vowel
Root Suffix
Instrument to visually examine the stomach
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GASTROENTEROLOGY
GASTR- O/ ENTER- O/ -LOGY
Root Root Suffix
*The combining vowel is
Combining vowels
retained between two
roots, even if the second
root begins with a vowel. Study of the stomach and the intestines
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RULES FOR USING COMBINING VOWELS
A combining vowel is A combining vowel is
not used when a suffix used when a suffix
begins with a vowel begins with a
(a,e,i,o,u) consonant
A prefix does not
A combining vowel is require a combining
always used when two vowel. Do not place a
or more root words combining vowel
are joined. between a prefix and
the word root.
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COMBINING FORM= THE COMBING VOWEL
PLUS THE ROOT
-logy = hematology
HEMAT/O- + -logist = hematologist
-oma = hematoma
HEMAT- /O
Root + Combining vowel
= COMBINING FORM
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-tomy = gastrotomy
GASTR/O- + -ectomy = gastrectomy
-algia = gastralgia
GASTR- /O
Root + Combining vowel
= COMBINING FORM
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-logy = cardiology
CARDI/O- + -logist = cardiologist
-itis = myocarditis
CARDI- /O
Root + Combining vowel
= COMBINING FORM
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PREFIX
¡ A prefix comes before the root.
¡ You can modify meaning of a medical term by putting a prefix before the root.
¡ Prefixes are the most frequently used elements in the formation of Greek and Latin
words, but not every word contains a prefix.
¡ Prefixes may be divided into various categories of meaning depending on how they
modify the root, such as location, time, amount, size, or position.
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PREFIX
SUB/GASTR/IC
SUB- GASTR- -IC
Prefix Root Suffix
(under) (stomach) (pertaining to)
Pertaining to under the stomach
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EPI/GASTR/IC
EPI- GASTR- -IC
Prefix Root Suffix
(above) (stomach) (pertaining to)
Pertaining to above the stomach
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SUMMARY
¡ Prefixes are added to the beginning of a term
¡ A medical word has one or more roots, an ending called suffix and possibly a prefix at the beginning.
¡ Read the meaning of the medical term from the suffix back to the beginning of the term and across.
¡ Look for the O in medical terms to help you divide the term into parts
¡ Drop the combining vowel before a suffix beginning with a vowel: gastritis not gastroitis
¡ Keep the combining vowel between two roots: gastroenterology not gastrenterology
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FORMATION OF PLURAL ENDINGS
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PLURALS
Singular Plural
vertebra vertebrae
bursa bursae
bulla bullae
For words ending in a, retain the a and add e.
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PLURALS
Singular Plural
anastomosis anastomoses
metastasis metastases
epiphysis epiphyses
prosthesis prostheses
pubis pubes
For words ending in is, drop the is and add es
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PLURALS
Singular Plural
Apex apices
Varix varices
For words ending in ex and ix, drop the ex or ix and add ices.
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PLURALS
Singular Plural
bacterium bacteria
diverticulum diverticula
ovum ova
For words ending in um, drop the um and add a.
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PLURALS
Singular Plural
calculus calculi
bronchus bronchi
nucleus nuclei
For words ending in us, drop the us and i.
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PLURALS
Singular Plural
foramen foramina
iris irides
femur femora
anomaly anomalies
biopsy biopsies
adenoma adenomata
Additional rules are used to form plurals in other word families.
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MEDICAL SPELLING
Beginning Pronunciation Example
gn n gnosis
kn n knowledge
mn n mnemonic
pn n pneumonia
ps s psychiatrist
pt t ptosis
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THE TERMS ILEUM AND ILIUM CAN BE CONFUSING BECAUSE THEY
ARE PRONOUNCED ALIKE AND LOCATED IN THE SAME REGION
OF THE BODY
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URINARY SYSTEM
THE TERMS
URETHRA AND URETER
CAN BE CONFUSING
BECAUSE THEY ARE
BOTH TUBES OF THE
URINARY SYSTEM, BUT
THE SPELLINGS AND
PRONUNCIATIONS ARE
DIFFERENT.
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SUMMARY
¡ Word Analysis, prefix, suffix, connecting
¡ Plural endings
¡ Medical Spelling
¡ Positional and directional terms
¡ Sectional planes
¡ Frontal
¡ Sagittal
¡ Transverse
