Medical terminology is language that is used to describe anatomical structures, processes, conditions, medical procedures, and treatments. At first glance, medical terms may appear intimidating, but once you understand the standard structure of medical words and the definitions of some common word elements, the meaning of thousands of medical terms is easily unlocked. Show Most medical terms adhere to a fixed structure of a prefix, a root, and a suffix. These word components are assembled like building blocks to create a vast vocabulary. The physicians of Greece are considered the founders of rational medicine, and medical terms are primarily derived from Greek and Latin.1 Over the centuries, the language of medicine has evolved into multiple national medical languages. Today, medical English is the primary language for international communication. It is used in most influential medical journals and has become the language of choice at international conferences.2 Basic Term StructureMedical terms are composed of these standard word parts:
Breaking a word down into its component parts should help readers ascertain the meaning of an unfamiliar term. For example, hypothermia has the prefix hypo- (meaning below normal), the root therm (heat or warmth), and the suffix -ia (condition). Word RootsA root is the foundational element of any medical term. Roots often indicate a body part or system. Common word roots: Compound Words A medical word may include multiple roots. This frequently occurs when referencing more than one body part or system. For example, cardio-pulmo-nary means pertaining to the heart and lungs; gastro-entero-logy means the study of the stomach and intestines. Combining Forms A combining vowel is used when a root is followed by another word part that begins with a consonant. A combining vowel (usually the letter "o") is added after the root (e.g., neur-o-logy) to aid pronunciation. The root and vowel together (e.g., neur-o) are called the combining form. For simplicity, combining vowel options are omitted from the word part tables. PrefixesA prefix modifies the meaning of the word root. It may indicate a location, type, quality, body category, or quantity. Prefixes are optional and do not appear in all medical terms. Common prefixes: Sizelargemacro-, mega(lo)-smallmicro-Numberhalfsemi-half (one side)hemi-onemono-, uni-two | three | fourbi- | tri- | quad(ri)-equalequi-manypoly-Levelabove normalhyper-below normalhypo-normal/goodeu-Time or Speedbeforepro-, pre-, ante-afterpost-back/backwardretro-againre-fasttachy-slowbrady-newneo-time, long timechron-Location or Relationshipaway fromab-abovesupra-aroundperi-acrosstrans-betweeninter-out of, outsideex-, ec(t)-selfauto-through, completelydia-togethercon-towardad-within, insideend(o)-Function or Qualityagainstanti-, contra-badmal-causeeti-selfauto-withouta-, de-abnormal, baddys-SuffixesMedical terms always end with a suffix.3 The suffix usually indicates a specialty, test, procedure, function, condition/disorder, or status. For example, “itis” means inflammation and “ectomy” means removal. Alternatively, the suffix may simply make the word a noun or adjective. For example, the endings -a, -e, -um, and -us are commonly used to create a singular noun (e.g., crani-um). Although the suffix appears at the end of the term, it often comes first in the definition. For example, appendicitis means inflammation (-itis) of the appendix.4 Accordingly, it is sometimes helpful to read unfamiliar medical terms from right to left. Occasionally, medical terms are composed of only a prefix and a suffix. For example, apnea includes the prefix a- (without) and suffix -pnea (breathing). Common suffixes (letters in parentheses are not always present): Basic Noun and Adjective Suffixes(noun form)-a, -e, -um, -iscausing-geniccondition-ia, -ism, -sis, -yspecialty-iatry, -iatrics, -icsspecialist-ian, -iststructure-um, -ussmall, little-ula, -ulum, -ulusstudy of-logypertaining to-ac, -ar(y), -(e/i)al, -ic(al), -ior, -ory, -ous, -ticTests and Proceduresremoval of-ectomyimage/record-gramrecording instrument-graph(y)cut in-otomyvisual examination-scopyopening-stomyPathology or Functionblood (condition of)-emiabreathing-pneainflammation-itiscondition or disease-osisdeficiency-peniadisease-pathyexcessive flow-rrhag(e/ia)mass, tumor-omaPlural Forms Adding an “s” or “es” to the end of a word is often the straightforward method to make a word plural in English and many modern Romance languages. In medical terminology, however, things are a little more complicated. The plural form of each word is based on the last two letters of the singular suffix. There are several exceptions. For example, “virus” is a Latin term without a plural form. “Viruses” is the accepted plural form. Elsewhere, the suffix “s” or “es” occasionally prevails in common usage. For example, the plural form of “hematoma” is “hematomas” rather than “hematomata.” What are the 3 parts to most medical terms?Three standard word elements—roots, prefixes, and suffixes—are used to construct most medical terms.
What are the 5 main parts of a medical term?suffix.. combining form.. prefix.. word root.. What are medical terms composed of?Medical terminology is composed of a prefix, root word, and suffix:. Prefix: A prefix is placed at the beginning of a word to modify or change its meaning. ... . Root: central part of a word.. Suffix: The ending part of a word that modifies the meaning of the word.. What are the four parts of a medical term?Most medical terms can be broken down into one or more word parts. There are a total of four different word parts, and any given medical term may contain one, some, or all of these parts. We will classify these word parts as: (1) roots, (2) prefixes, (3) suffixes, and (4) linking or combining vowels.
|