INTRODUCTION TO MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY
LECTURE 1
DR. MAYADA OMER FADUL
Introduction
• Medical terminology is the language of health care.
• Medical terminology is much more concise than normal English for
describing things of a medical nature.
• By understanding terms, components, even complex words, can be
broken down.
• Use proper medical terminology to communicate with other health
care professionals.
Course Objectives
Understand the common biomedical terminology.
Show knowledge of word roots, combining forms, prefixes and suffixes
related to each system studies.
Understand words associated with anatomical structures, and
pathological processes of common diseases.
Define directional terms associated with human body.
Identify selected common medical abbreviations and symbols .
General roles
1.Mobile phone silent
2.Being late for 15 min , you will be registered as being
“late”
3.Being late for 30 min , you will be registered as
“absent”
4.If you have any questions , please ask any time.
5.For contact : mfadul@ gc.edu.sa –(0554104398)
Marks in this Course
First midterm 20%
Second midterm 20%
Participation ,Homework 20%
&Quizzes
Final Exam 40%
Concepts of Medical Terminology
Definition of Medical Terminology
❑Medical Terminology:
is a special vocabulary used by health care professionals for effective
and accurate communication.
❑It is based mainly on Greek and Latin words
❑It is efficient; although some of the terms are long, they often
reduce an entire phrase to a single word.
example : gastroduodenostomy
- stands for “a communication between the stomach and the first
part of the small intestine”
Gastroduodenostomy: A surgical communication(-stomy)
between the stomach (gastr) and the first part of the small
intestine ,duodenum(duoden)
Word Parts in Medical Terminology:
1) The Root
2) The Prefix
3) The Suffix
4) The Combining forms
Word Parts
1)The Root:
Is the fundamental unit of each medical word, basic
meaning of the word and is the part to which modifying
prefixes and suffixes are added.
Word Parts
2)The Prefix :
is a short word part added before a root to modify its
meaning.
In this course prefixes are indicated by a dash after the
prefix, such as pre-
Usually indicates a number, time, position, direction , or
color.
Some prefixes
Word Parts
3)The Suffix:
is a short word part or series of parts added at the end of a
root to modify its meaning.
Suffixes may be indicated by a dash before the suffix, such
as -itis.
Word Parts
4)Combining Forms:
❑When a suffix beginning with a consonant letter(c , r
,k,…) is added to a root, a vowel (usually an o) is
inserted between the root and the suffix to aid in
pronunciation.
❑The vowel letters are: A,E,I,O,U
❑(Ex: Gastroduodenostomy)
neur + o + logy = neurology
(study of the nervous system)
suffix -logy, meaning “study” -
root neur, meaning “nerve or nervous system" -
❑A combining vowel usually is not used if the ending begins
with a vowel.
❑The root neur is combined with the suffix -itis, meaning
“inflammation of,” in this way
neur + itis = neuritis (inflammation of a nerve)
Part 2
Word Derivations:
Most medical word parts come from Greek (G) and Latin (L) words
Example 1 : muscle comes from a Latin word that means “mouse”
(because the movement of a muscle under the skin was thought to
resemble the scampering of a mouse)
Example 2 : The coccyx, the tail end of the spine, is named for the
cuckoo (because it was thought to resemble the cuckoo’s bill)
Pronunciation
A vowel (a, e, i, o, u) gets a short pronunciation if it has no
pronunciation mark over it, such as:
a as in hat
e as in met
i as in bin
o as in some
u as in run
Short line over the vowel gives it a long pronunciation:
Soft and Hard c and g
A soft c, as in racer, will be written as s
A hard c, as in candy, will be written as k
A soft g, as in page, will be written as j
A hard g, as in grow, will be written as g
Symbols:
•Symbols are commonly used in case histories as a
form of shorthand.
• Some examples are:
• L and R for Left and Right;
• ↑ and ↓ for increase and decrease.
Abbreviations:
The abbreviations is formed from the first letter of each word in a phrase.
Abbreviations can save time
May have different meanings in different fields .
Example: GIT (Gastro Intestinal Tract).
Abbreviation Meaning
Abbreviations
IBD Inflammatory Bowel Disease
IBS Irritable Bowel Syndrome
NG Nasogastric
NPO Nothing Per Oral
TPN Total Parenteral Nutrition
UGI Upper Gastrointestinal (series)
Singular and Plural endings
❑Many medical terms come from Greek or Latin words as
we mentioned before.
❑Rules for forming plurals come from these languages.
❑Other words use English rules.
❑Each medical term must be considered individually when
changing from singular to plural.
Special Rules
Words Ending In x
When a word ending in x, the x is changed to g or c .
Ex: - pharynx (throat) becomes pharyngeal ( to mean
“pertaining to the throat)
- coccyx (terminal portion of the vertebral column)
becomes coccygeal (to mean “pertaining to the
coccyx)
Suffixes Beginning With rh
When a suffix beginning with rh is added to a root, the r is doubled:
hem/o (blood) + -rhage (bursting forth) = hemorrhage (a bursting
forth of blood)
men/o (menses) + -rhea (flow, discharge) = menorrhea (menstrual
flow)
Summary
• The proper use of medical terminology will help ensure clarity
in the sharing of information regarding the patient.
• The proper use of medical terminology is an expectation in the
practice.
