An Introduction to Medical Terminology
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Classroom rules: No texting No sleeping Treat everyone with respect There is no such thing as a dumb question No background talking Have fun
Tips for Success 1.Pay Attention 2.Interact 3.Review a little every day rather than trying to study it all at once. 4.Make associations 5.Use flash cards 6.Draw pictures
Medical Terminology is based on breaking words down into their basic elements. Prefixes Suffixes Roots Combining forms DON’T PANIC: more than 75% of medical terminology is based on Greek or Latin words. You will not be fluent by the end of today……
Reading medical jargon is like being a CSI agent. You must break the word down into it’s most basic form to find the clues needed to decipher the meaning
Prefix : the beginning part of a word Suffix : the end part of a word ** Prefixes and Suffixes can never stand alone. You can’t have a beginning or ending part of a word without a word.
Root : this is the foundation or basic meaning of the word. This can appear with a prefix or suffix or between one of each. Combining form is a root with an added vowel, this is know as the “combining vowel”.
Some words contain more than one root. Each root retains it’s basic meaning. These words are called “compound words” Example: osteoarthritis: oste is the first root, meaning bone, o is the combining vowel, Arthr is the second root, meaning joint Itis: is the suffix, meaning inflammation of The meaning of the word is inflammation of a bone joint.
EXAMPLES : (look in your book, page 4) Antisepsis : Anti is the prefix : meaning without or against. Sepsis : is the root : meaning infection So this word means without/against infection Antisepsis is the method of preparing a surgery site.
Hepatitis : Hepat is the root, meaning liver Itis: is the suffix, meaning inflammation of Hepatitis means : inflammation of the liver.
PLURALS: In medical terminology, a plural may be formed by changing the ending of the word See examples on page 5
SPELLING : spelling counts!!!!!!! Some words sound alike but are spelled differently EXAMPLE : ileum is a part of the intestinal tract Ilium is a pelvic bone.
What do you know? Blepharospasm Endocarditis Pyothorax Gastritis Urolithiasis Cystocentesis Polydactyl Pseudocyesis Hepatic lipidosis Post prandial