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Introduction to Medical

Terminology

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After completion of this lecture you should be

able to:

1. Describe the origin of medical language.

2. Explain the purpose of medical terminology.

3 Analyze the component parts of a medical term

4. Define the terms root, suffix, and prefix.

5. Explain what combining forms are and why they

are used.

6. Explain common rules for proper medical term

formation, pronunciation, and spelling.

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Outlines• Introduction

• Term Components

• Combining Forms and Combining Vowels

• Defining Medical Terms Through Word Structure Analysis

• Rules for Forming and Spelling Medical Terms

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Introduction• Special vocabulary used by health care professionals for effective and accurate communication

• Most medical terms have Greek or Latin origins.

• These terms date back to the founding of modern medicine by the Greeks and by the influence of Latin when it was the universal language in the Western world.

• Other languages, such as German and French, have also influenced medical terms.

• Today, many new terms are derived from English, which is considered the universal language.

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Good news!??

• The good news is that there are only about

300 Latin and Greek word elements,

• From which thousands of medical terms

may be formed.

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• Most medical terms have three basic component

parts: the root, the suffix, and the prefix.

• Each term is formed by combining at least one

root (the foundation or subject of the word),

and a suffix (the word ending that modifies and

gives essential meaning to the root).

TERM COMPONENTS

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• Root

– Fundamental unit of each medical word

– Establishes basic meaning of word

– Part to which prefixes and suffixes are added

• Suffix

– Short word part or parts added to the end of a

word

– Modifies the meaning of the root

– Indicated by a dash before the suffix (-itis)

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• Prefix

– Short word part added before a root

– Modifies the meaning of the root

– Followed by a dash (pre-)

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• Breaking down and defining the key components in a term often defines the term or gives clues to its meaning. In the term lipemia, lip is the ………..that means………… , and -emia is the…………. that means……..

• (root, fat, suffix, blood condition)

• Memorizing key medical term components makes it possible to decipher that the term refers to the condition of ……..in the…….

• (fat, blood)

EXERCISE 1

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PATTERNS OF TERM FORMATION

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1. Root/Suffix

• cardi/ac means……

• pertaining to the heart

2. Prefix/Root/Suffix

• epi/card/ium means….

• structure or tissue upon the heart

3. Preix/Prefx/Root/Suffix

• sub/endo/cardi/al means

• pertaining to below or under and within the heart

4. Root/Combining Vowel/Root/Suffix

• cardi/o/vascul/ar means

• pertaining to the heart and vessels

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5. Root/Combining Vowel/Suffix

• cardi/o/logy means

• study of the heart

6. Root/Combining Vowel/Suffix (Symptomatic)

• cardi/o/dynia means

• pain in the heart

7. Root/Combining Vowel/Suffix (Diagnostic)

• cardi/o/rrhexis means

• rupture of the heart

8. Root/Combining Vowel/Suffix (Operative)

• cardi/o/rrhaphy means

• suture of the heart

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Exceptions

• Most medical terms are formed by combining a root or roots and modified by suffixes and prefixes.

• Occasionally, terms are formed by a root alone or a combination of roots.

• Example: duct

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Root

to lead

ovi/duct

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Root/Root

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egg/to lead

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• Oviduct refers to the uterine tube.

• Sometimes, a term is formed from the combination of a prefix and suffix.

• Example: meta/stasis

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Prefix/Suffix

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beyond, after, or change/stop or stand

• Metastasis refers to the spread of a disease, such as cancer, from one location to another.

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COMBINING FORMS AND

COMBINING VOWELS

1. psych o logy = psychology

2. path o logy = pathology

• When a medical term has more than one root, the roots are joined together by a vowel, usually an “o.”

• the “o” is used to link the two parts and it provides easier pronunciation.

• This vowel is known as a combining vowel.

• “O” is the most common combining vowel (i is the second most common) and is used so frequently to join root to root or root to suffix that it is routinely attached to the root and presented as a combining form.

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DEFINING MEDICAL TERMS THROUGH

WORD STRUCTURE ANALYSIS

• You can usually define a term by interpreting the suffix first, then the prefix (if present), then the root or roots.

• Example: pericarditis

• peri/ card/ itis

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prefix root suffix

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• around heart inflammation

• pericarditis (inflammation around the heart)

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• Beginning students often have difficulty

differentiating between prefixes and roots (or

combining forms) because the root appears first

in a medical term when a prefix is not used.

• It is important to memorize the most common

prefixes so that you can tell the difference.

• Also, keep in mind that a prefix is used only as

needed to further modify the root or roots.

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RULES FOR FORMING AND SPELLING

MEDICAL TERMS

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F IVE BASIC RULES

FOR FORMING AND SPELLING MEDICAL

TERMS

1. If the root ends in a consonant (any letter except

a, e, i, o, u) and the suffix begins with a

consonant, insert a combining vowel (usually an

“o”) between the component parts

• hepat/o -megaly is spelled hepatomegaly and is

defined as……….

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2. A combining vowel is not used before a suffix that begins

with vowel: vas/o -ectomy is spelled vasectomy and is

defined as…….

3. If the root ends in a vowel and the suffix begins with the

same vowel, drop the final vowel from the root and do not

use a combining vowel: cardi/o -itis is spelled carditis and

is defined as……..

4. Most often, a combining vowel is inserted between two

roots even when the second root begins with a vowel:

cardi/o esophag/o -eal is spelled cardioesophageal and is

defined as………..

5. Occasionally, when a prefix ends in a vowel, and the root

begins with a vowel, the final vowel is dropped from the

prefix: para- enter/o -al is spelled parenteral and is defined

as…..

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EXERCISE 2

1. angi/o -ectasis is spelled……and means………

• angiectasis

• expansion or dilation of a vessel

2. hemat/o -logy is spelled…… and means…..

• hematology

• study of blood

3. gastr/o enter/o -stomy is spelled….and means…

• gastroenterostomy

• creation of an opening (between) stomach and small intestine

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5. oligo- ur/o -ia is spelled…… and means…….

• oliguria

• condition of deficient urine

6. oste/o -ectomy is spelled…… and means…….

• ostectomy

• excision (removal) of bone

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SPELLING MEDICAL TERMS

• Correct spelling of medical terms is crucial for

communication among health care professionals.

• Careless spelling causes misunderstandings that can have

serious consequences.

• The following list shows some of the pitfalls to avoid.

1. Some words sound the same but are spelled differently

and have different meanings. Context is the clue to

spelling.

For example,

• ileum (part of the intestine) and ilium (part of the hip

bone)

• sitology (study of food) cytology (study of cells)

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2. Other words sound similar but are spelled

differently and have different meanings. For

example,

• abduction (to draw away from) adduction (to draw

toward)

• hepatoma (liver tumor) hematoma (blood tumor)

• aphagia (inability to swallow) aphasia (inability to

speak)

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3. Some words have more than one accepted spelling. For example,

• orthopedic orthopaedic

• leukocyte leucocyte

4. Some combining forms have the same meaning but different origins that compete for usage.

For example,

three combining forms mean uterus:

• hyster/o (Greek)

• metr/o (Greek)

• uter/o (Latin)

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RULES OF PRONUNCIATION

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Abbreviations

• Can save time

• May cause confusion

• Acronym = abbreviation formed from first

letter of each word in a phrase

– ASAP = as soon as possible

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EXERCISE 3

• the longest word in the English language

• Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanocon

iosis

• Draw lines to separate the component parts,

then define the words

• pneumono/ultra/micro/scopic/silico/volcano

/coni/sis

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• ultra = excessive

• micro = small

• scopic = pertaining to an instrument used to

examine

• silico = silica

• volcano = volcano

• pneumo = air or lung

• coni = dust

• osis = condition of

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• The term refers to a condition of

excessively small volcanic and silica dust

in the lung.

• It is said to be a specific type of

pneumoconiosis (a condition of dust in the

lungs) such as described at the time of the

eruption of Mt. St. Helen’s in May 1980 in

Washington State.