Medical Terminology: Get Connected!
Third Edition Suzanne S. Frucht, PhD
Chapter 1
Introduction to Medical
Terminology
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Learning Objectives
1-1 Identify the three types of medical terms.
1-2 Explain the differences between prefixes, suffixes, word roots, and combining vowels.
1-3 Form combining forms.
1-4 Explain how to analyze (build and interpret) medical terms.
1-5 Describe how to pluralize medical terms.
1-6 Understand how to pronounce medical terms.
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A Brief Introduction to Medical
Terminology
• There are three common types of medical terms:
– Terms built from latin and Greek word parts
▪Examples include cardiology and tonsillectomy
– Terms that use a person’s name, called eponyms
▪Examples include Parkinson disease and Alzheimer disease
– Modern English words
▪Examples include magnetic resonance imaging and irritable
bowel syndrome
• Most medical terms are built from Latin and Greek parts.
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Elements of Latin- and Greek-Based
Medical Terms
• Learning medical terminology is like learning a foreign language.
• As you learn, you will follow a general process:
– Memorize individual word parts.
– Use memorized parts to build and analyze terms.
– Gain confidence through repetition.
– Integrate terms into your vocabulary.
• Medical terms are created by using:
– Word Roots
– Suffixes
– Prefixes
– Combining Vowels
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Word Roots
• The word root is the foundation of most medical terms.
• It gives the essential meaning of the term.
• In many—but not all—cases, the root refers to a:
– Body structure
– Organ
– System
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Word Roots
• gastr
arthr joint
stomach
• hepat
carcin cancer
liver
• my
cardi heart
muscle
• oste
cephal head
bone
• rhin
electr electricity
nose
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Suffixes
• Suffixes are found at the end
• They provide information about the word root related to:
– conditions
– diseases
– Surgical and diagnostic procedures
• Suffix is written by itself, a hyphen is placed at the front.
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Suffixes
• -ectomySurgical removal
• -gram a record
• -itis inflammation
• -logy study of
• -megalyenlarged
• -pathy disease
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Prefixes
• Prefixes are found at the beginning
• They provide information about the word root related to:
– Abnormal conditions
– Numbers
– Positions
– Times
• Many medical terms do not have a prefix.
• A prefix is written by itself, a hyphen at the end.
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Prefixes
• a- Without
• bi- Two
• dys- Abnormal, difficult, painful
• inter- Between
• post- After
• sub- Under
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Combining Vowels
• Combining Vowels are used to connect word parts and make terms
easier to spell and say.
• Not every term has a combining vowel.
• The combining vowel is only placed:
– Between a word root
– Between suffix
• It is not used between a prefix and a word root
• The splashes (/) are used to divide the term into its word parts.
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Combining Vowels
• Between a root and a suffix:
– If the suffix begins with a non-vowel, use it.
– If the suffix begins with a vowel, do not use it.
▪arthr + -itis = arthritis
▪Arthroitis is not correct.
• Between two roots:
– Always use it between two word roots
▪gastr + o + enter + o + -logy = correct
▪Gastrenterology is not correct.
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Combining Forms
• The word root + the combining vowel is the combining form
• It is written as a slash(/) between the two word parts.
• It is not another category of word part because it is built from two
other word parts
• Throughout the course, the combining form will be given in place of
the word root.
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Figure 1-2
Common combining forms for organs or
regions of the body
For long description, see slide 26, Appendix A
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Strategies for Analyzing Medical
Terms
• Using medical terms goes two ways:
– You must define medical terms that are used.
– You must build words to use.
• When defining terms, follow a three-step process:
1. Divide the word into its word parts
2. Define each word part
3. Put together word parts to determine the definition of the entire
term.
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Strategies for Analyzing Medical
Terms
• Dysmenorrhea
1. dys + men/o + -rrhea
2. dys = abnormal, difficult, or painful
men/o = menstruation
-rrhea = discharge
3. Put the meaning of individual word parts together: Difficult or
painful menstrual discharge
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You can figure out the meaning of a medical
Figure 1-3 term by dividing it into its word parts and
then defining each part.
Phrase: Fibrous Skin Tumor
- fibr/o means fibrous
- Dermato/o means skin
- -Oma means tumor,mass
Place word parts in correct order: Dermatofibroma
For long description, see slide 27, Appendix B
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Strategies for Analyzing Medical
Terms
• When building terms, follow the reverse process.
1. Determine the definition you need to ________.
2. Identify _______that make a term with this definition.
3. _____parts together.
• Put the meaning of the word parts together in order to see what the term
is describing.
• Divide the term into its word parts.
• Define each word part.
( I copied this from book – not in slides)
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Strategies for Analyzing Medical
Terms
• Fibrous skin tumor
1. Fibrous skin tumor
2. fibr/o = fibrous
dermat/o = skin
-oma = tumor,mass
3. dermat/o + fibr + oma = dermatofibroma
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Rules for Building Plurals
Word ends in Singular Plural
–a, keep –a and add –e vertebra Vertebrae
–ax, drop –x and add –ces thorax Thoraces
–ex, drop –ex and add –ices apex Apices
–is, drop –is and add –es metastasis Metastases
–ix, drop –x and add –ces appendix Appendices
–ma, keep –ma and add –ta sarcoma Sarcomata
–on, drop –on and add –a spermatozoon Spermatozoa
–us, drop –us and add –i alveolus Alveoli
–um, drop –um and add –a ovum Ova
–x, drop –x and add –ges phalanx Phalanges
–y, drop –y and add –ies biopsy Biopsies
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Pronouncing Medical Terms
Hint Example
-ae or -oe, pronounce only second bursae (BER-see)
letter coelom (SEE-lum)
c and g have soft sound if followed cerebrum (seh-REE-brum)
by e, i, or y gingivitis (jin-jih-VIGH-tis)
c and g have hard sound if cardiac (KAR-dee-ak)
followed by other letters gastric (GAS-trik)
ch- at beginning of word has cholesterol (koh-LES-ter-all)
hard k sound chemical (KEM-ih-kull)
-e or -es at end of word syncope (SIN-koh-pee)
pronounced as separate syllable Nares (NAIR-eez)
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Pronouncing Medical Terms
Hint Example
-i at end of word bronchi (BRONG-keye)
pronounced 'eye' Nuclei (NEW-klee-eye)
pn- at beginning of word, pneumonia (noo-MOH-nee-ah)
pronounce only n pneumogram (NOO-moh-gram)
pn in middle of word, Tachypnea (tak-ip-NEE-ah)
pronounce hard p and hypopnea (high-POP-nee-ah)
hard n
ps- at beginning of word, psychiatry (sigh-KIGH-ah-tree)
pronounce only s psychology (sigh-KALL-oh-jee)
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The Medical Record
• Medical Record: a documents that details a patient’s hospital stay.
• Each healthcare professional adds to this chart.
• It is a permeant record of the patient’s condition and ____________.
• Each page must contain the proper identification information: name, date of
birth, iD number.
• After the discharge, the medical records will have all the documents saved.
• Electronic Medical Record (EMR): a software program allows for entering
patient’s information via a computer or tablet.
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Elements of the Medical Record
• Chief complaint
• __________
• Past medical history
• ___________
• Review of systems
• Physical Examination:
– General appearance
– ______
– _____
– Diagnostic data
• _____
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Elements of the Medical Record
• _______
• Nurse's notes
• Physician's progress notes
• ________
• Ancillary reports
• Diagnostic reports
• ________
• Operative reports
• _________
• Pathologist reports
• ________
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Healthcare Settings
• ______: provide services to diagnose (laboratory, diagnostic, imaging) and
treat (surgery, medications, therapy) diseases for a short period of time; in
addition, usually provide emergency and obstetrical care
• _________: provide care for very specific types of diseases ( eg psychiatric
hospitals)
• ______________: provide long-term care for patients needing extra time to
recover from illness or injury before returning home, or for persons who can
no longer care for themselves
• __________: walk-in clinics that provide immediately needed care not
requiring services of emergency dept; often used by persons who cannot get
appointment at primary care physician’s office or who do not have a primary
care physician
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Healthcare Settings
• __________: provide services not requiring overnight hospitalization; serves
range from simple surgeries to diagnostic testing or various treatments
• _____: provide diagnostic and treatment services in a private office stetting
• _______(HMO); provides wide range of services by a group of primary care
physicians, specialists, and other healthcare professionals in a prepaid system
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Healthcare Settings
• ______: provides nursing, therapy, personal care, or housekeeping services
in patient’s own home
• ______: provide intensive physical and occupational therapy; includes
inpatient and outpatient treatment
• _______: Palliative care is specialized medical care that focuses on providing
relief from pain and other symptoms of a serious illness.
• ______: provide supportive treatment to terminally ill patients and their families
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