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L1 Medical Terminology

The document provides an overview of medical terminology, defining key components such as prefixes, root words, and suffixes that form medical terms. It explains the significance of these components in understanding healthcare-related vocabulary, along with examples of common medical terms and their meanings. Additionally, it categorizes prefixes based on their functions, including expressing numbers, measurements, positions, directions, colors, and negatives.

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2 views38 pages

L1 Medical Terminology

The document provides an overview of medical terminology, defining key components such as prefixes, root words, and suffixes that form medical terms. It explains the significance of these components in understanding healthcare-related vocabulary, along with examples of common medical terms and their meanings. Additionally, it categorizes prefixes based on their functions, including expressing numbers, measurements, positions, directions, colors, and negatives.

Uploaded by

sarahessen74b
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Instructor information

• Contact: Doctor Aya Ahmad Elnegery


• Department. Medical Microbiology and Immunology
• Official email: [email protected]
• Mobile: 01060345452
1. Define a prefix.
2. State the rule for using prefixes in words.
What is Medical Terminology:
A medical Terminology is a group of words very commonly used in the field of
healthcare to describe procedures, processes, diseases and disorders relating to
the human body and living organisms in general.

Medical terminology is a vast subject which entails all types of words used in
the field of healthcare and medicine, thus it is next to impossible to know about
each one of them. To make it easy for everyone to try and understand most of
the words the terminology can be broken down into various categories such as:
Medical Terms
Medical Root Words
Medical Prefixes and Suffixes
Medical Abbreviations and Acronyms
A typical medical term includes a root word and a prefix and/or a
suffix attached to it Example:
- Hypothermia consists of a prefix – Hypo which means “deficient/low”
and root word – therm which means “heat”. The combined meaning of the
word is – a medical emergency which occurs when the body loses heat
faster than it can produce, causing a low body temperature.
- In this manner most of the medical terms can be formed by combining root
word with a prefix and or suffix. Most of these root words, prefixes and
suffixes are from Ancient Greek or Latin, thus their meanings come from the
language of origin. Thus Medical terminology in itself is a language.
 Abdomen: The part of the body that contains the stomach, intestines, and
other organs
 Acute: Refers to a condition that has a rapid onset and short duration
 Anemia: A condition in which the body lacks enough red blood cells to carry
oxygen to the body's tissues
 Artery: A blood vessel that carries blood away from the heart to other parts of
the body
 Benign: Refers to a tumor or growth that is not cancerous and does not invade
nearby tissue or spread to other parts of the body
 Chronic: Refers to a condition that lasts a long time or is persistent
 Diagnosis: The identification of a disease or condition based on its symptoms
and medical tests
 Inflammation: The body's response to injury or infection, characterized by
redness, swelling, heat, and pain
 Prognosis: The likely outcome of a disease or condition based on medical
treatment and other factors
 Symptom: A physical or mental indication of a disease or
condition, such as pain or fatigue.
 Virus: A microscopic infectious agent that can replicate only
inside a host cell and causes various diseases.
 X-ray: A medical test that uses electromagnetic radiation to
produce images of internal body structures.
Word Root
A word root is the basic foundation of a word, to which component parts
are added. By adding other word elements to the root, the meaning of the
word changes. A word root is also called the stem of a word or the base of a
word, and usually has a Greek or Latin origin. All medical words have at least
one word root. Some have multiple roots that are joined by a vowel called a
combining vowel.
Example:

In the word cardiologist, the word root is cardi, which means “heart.” When
you see cardi (or card) as part of a word, you know that the meaning will have
something to do with the heart. Another example can be found in
dermatologist. The root is dermat, which means “skin.” Anytime you see
dermat (or derm) as part of a word, the meaning will have something to do with
the skin.

Adding prefixes and suffixes to the roots, change the


meaning of the word.
Medical Root Words
Root words originate from the commonly used words such as body part
(heart, liver, kidney), or part their of such as urine, blood, cells etc.
Root Word Meaning
Blast Germ, immature cell
Carcino Cancer
Cardio Heart
Cyto Cell
Derma Skin
Histio Tissue
Nephro Kidney
Neuro Nerves
Onco Mass/Tumor
Osteo Bones
Paed Child
Tox Poison
Combining Form of Word Roots:
The combining form is created when the word root is combined with a vowel,
most commonly the letter "o", which enables two or more word part
elements to be combined with it. Examples of word roots within their
combining form are (commonly formatted as "/o"):
 Dermat/o, Cutane/o
 Gastr/o
 Enter/o
 Col/o
The word root with its combining form now can be combined with
another word root or a suffix. For example:
Gastroenterologist:
The word root of gastr/o was combined with the word
root enter/o. Then the combining form of enter/o was combined with
the suffix -logist. Together, the word means a healthcare specialist who
studies and treats disorders of the stomach and intestines.
Prefixes

A word part at the beginning of a word root that modifies


its meaning is referred to as prefix. A prefix is designated by the
word part followed by a hyphen. Not every word root needs a
prefix, but every word root needs a suffix
Examples of common prefixes are:
 "Hyper-" which means excessive, above normal.
 "Hypo-" which means below, beneath.
 "A-"; "An-" which means without, lacking.
 "Dys-" which means difficult, painful.
 "Eu-" which means good, well.

Examples of these prefixes within medical terms:


 Hypertension means an increased average of blood pressure.
 Hypotension means below-average of blood pressure.
 Anaerobic means without oxygen.
 Dyspnea means difficult, labored, or painful breathing.
 Eupnea means good or healthy breathing.
1. Prefix: pre-fix, attached to words to express numbers,
measurements, position, direction, negatives, and color.
2. Every medical word has a root. Every medical word has an
ending, which is either a suffix or a root that is itself a word.
Not every medical word, however, has a prefix.
3. However, when prefixes are used they are attached directly
to the beginning of the word.
4. The meaning of a prefix will not change from word to word.
For example, hyper always means “excessive or more than
normal.”
Word Prefix Root Ending Definition

difficult breathing
dyspnea dys pne a
absence of
apnea a pne a breathing

bradypnea brady pne a slow breathing


Numbers

Prefixes that express numbers


indicate, for example, whether
there is one, two, or three;
whether it is single, double, or
half. Look at some of the more
commonly used prefixes and see
how they relate to numbers.
Measurement

Prefixes that express measurement indicate


quantity such as much, many, or excessive.
They often refer to multiples without specifically
referring to a number. They also refer
to excessive (above normal) conditions.
Position and/or Direction
Prefixes that express position and/or direction are
used to describe a location.

The location may be in the middle of, between,


under, before, or after a particular body
structure or it may be around, upon, near, or outside
an area or structure.
Prefixes that express color can (for example)
indicate color in reactions, the color of growths or
rashes, and the color of body fluids. Some of the
following word elements are pure prefixes. Others
are combining forms used as prefixes. Most
dictionaries identify these forms relating to color as
“combining forms,” not as prefixes.
Negatives
Prefixes that express
negatives indicate such
things as not, without,
lack of, and against

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