Chapter 2 Basic Term Components

Origin of Medical Terms 0 Most medical terms have Greek or Latin origins. 0 Most diagnostic and surgical terms have Greek origins 0 Most anatomical terms have Latin origins 0 Once you learn the basic medical term structure, and memorize the most common term components, you can get the meaning of most medical terms by defining their parts

Analysis of Term Components 0 Most medical terms have 3 components: 0 Root 0 Suffix 0 Prefix

Analysis of Term Components 0 Root word 0 Foundation or subject of the word 0 Usually (but not always) indicates the involved body part. 0 Ex. cardi means heart 0 A combining form is a root word with a vowel at the end so that a suffix beginning with a consonant can be added. 0 When a combining form appears alone, it is shown with a slash (/) between the root word and the combining vowel. 0 Ex. cardi/o 0 The combining form vowel is added to the end of a root word under certain conditions to make the resulting medical term easier to pronounce. 0 The letter “o” is the most commonly used combining vowel.

Analysis of Term Components 0 Suffix 0 Always found at the end of a medical term 0 Gives essential meaning to the root word by indicating the condition, disorder, disease, or procedure 0 Ex. -itis means inflammation 0 Prefix 0 Found at the beginning of a medical term 0 Not all medical terms contain a prefix 0 Only used when needed to further modify the root word 0 Ex. hyper-means excessive

Word Part Combinations 0 Not all medical terms come in the form: prefix/root word/suffix 0 Other possible word part combinations: 0 Root word/suffix 0 Root word/root word/suffix 0 Prefix/root word/root word/suffix 0 Prefix/prefix/root/suffix 0 Prefix/suffix

Rules for Forming Medical Terms 1. A combining vowel is used to join root to root as well as root to any suffix beginning with a consonant electr+cardi+-gram root rootsuffix electr/o/cardi/o/gram electrocardiogram 2. A combining vowel is NOT used before a suffix that begins with a vowel vas+-ectomy root suffix vas/ectomy vasectomy

Rules for Forming Medical Terms 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+-itis root suffix card/itis carditis 4. Most often, a combining vowel is inserted between two roots even when the 2 nd root begins with a vowel cardi+esophag+-eal root root suffix cardi/o/esophag/eal cardioesophageal

Review 1. A combining vowel is used when the suffix begins with a consonant 2. A combining vowel is NOT used when the suffix begins with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u) 3. A combining vowel is used when two or more root words are joined.

Defining Medical Terms through Word Structure Analysis 0 You can usually define a term by interpreting the suffix first, then the prefix (if present), then the succeeding root or roots peri-+cardi/o+-itis pericarditis peri/card/itis around heart inflammation Pericarditis  inflammation around the heart

Spelling Medical Terms 0 Many medical terms sound similar, but are spelled differently. 0 Ex:ilium (part of the hip bone) ileum (part of the intestine) **Because of this, context is key to spelling medical terms correctly.** 0 Some words sound similar but are spelled differently AND have different meaning, so be careful when pronouncing medical terms 0 Ex: adduction (to draw toward) abduction (to draw away from)

Guidelines to Looking Up the Spelling of Unfamiliar Medical Terms 0 Many letters in medical terms are silent, and therefore often mistakenly omitted when the term is spelled. If is sounds like:It may begin with:Example: FFflatus PHphlegm JGgingivitis Jjaundice KCcrepitus CHcholera Kkyphosis QUquadriplegia SCcytology PSpsychology Sserum ZXxeroderma Zzygote