1. Introduction to Medical Terminology

2. Overview
Medical terminology is a specialized language used by health care professionals
Just like a foreign language, it has its own vocabulary and ways of stringing together words in a way that is understandable to everyone.
But, unlike a foreign language, you come across medical terminology every day in magazines and newspapers with articles about new drugs, diets, new medical treatments and on television medical dramas.

3. Introduction
Many medical terms have interesting, even weird meanings or stories behind their evolution as words.
I will bet you already know some medical terms.
Have you heard of an esophagus, the tube that connects your throat with your stomach?
Esophagus comes from Greek words meaning “that which swallows what we eat.”
How about Fallopian tubes? They are named after a 16th century Italian anatomist, Gabriello Fallopio.
Okay, surely you have heard of a placenta. Placenta means a “flat cake” in Greek, simply describing its shape.

4. Medical Terminology
Medical Terminology: a specialized language of medicine used by health care providers

5. Medical Word Elements Elements of medical terms: Word root
Combining form
Suffix
Prefix
The meaning of the word changes when you change one of these word elements
Prenatal

6. Word Roots
Word Root: the foundation of a medical term that contains its meaning
Examples: hydr = water, arthr = joint, cardi = heart

7. Combining Forms
Combining form: created when a word root is combined with a vowel
Hydr/o
Arthr/o
Cardi/o
Combining vowel: usually an o but sometimes an e or an i is used
Bil/i
Pelv/i

8. Linking Word Parts When to use a combining form:
ONLY use when the suffix begins with a constant
Examples:
Arthr + -pathy =
Arthr + -itis =
Gastr + -centesis =

9. Suffixes
Suffix: a word element placed at the end of a word that changes the meaning of the word
Describes pathology (disease or abnormality), symptom, or a surgical or diagnostic procedure
Examples:
Mast + -ectomy = Mastectomy
Mast + -itis = Mastitis

10. Prefixes
Prefix: a word element placed the beginning of a word that changes the meaning of the word
Indicates number, time, position, direction, or negation
No connecting vowel is required
Examples:
Pre + nat + al =
Post + nat + al =

11. Steps to Defining Medical Terms
Define the suffix or last part of the word
Define the first part of the word
Define the middle part(s) of the word
Examples: osteoarthritis
nephropathy
gastroenterologist

12. Rules to Building Medical Terms
A word root links a suffix that begins with a vowel
Examples: gastritis, appendectomy
2. A combining form links a suffix that begins with a consonant
Example: colonoscopy
3. A combining form links a word root to another root word
Examples: gastroenteritis, osteochondritis

13. Hyperglycemia Writing Medical Terms Hyper- + glyc(o) + -emia =
Increased sugar in the blood
Hyper-
Glyc(o)
-emia
Hyper- + glyc(o) + -emia =
Hyperglycemia

14. Interpreting Difficult Terms
Gastroenteritis
Stomach
Intestines
Inflammation
Gastroenteritis is inflammation of the stomach and all or part of the intestines

15. Pronouncing Medical Terms
When pn is at the beginning of a word, the p is silent
Ch is sometimes pronounced k
When i is at the end of a word it is pronounced “eye”
For ae and oe, only the second vowel is pronounced
when pn is in the middle, p and n are both pronounced
When ps is at the beginning, the p is silent
When es is at the end of a word, the e and s are pronounced as separate syllables

16. Rules for singular and plural suffixes
Example
Singular
Plural -a
Retain a and add e
Pleura
-ax
Drop x and add ces
Thorax
-en
Drop en and add ina
Lumen
-is
Drop is and add es
Diagnosis
-ix
Drop ix and add ices
Appendix
-ex
Drops ex and add ices
Apex
-ma
Retain ma and add ta
Carcinoma
-on
Drop on and add a
Ganglion
-um
Drop um and add a
Bacterium
-us
Drop us and add i
Bronchus -y
Drop y and add ies
Deformity

17. Greek vs. Latin Roots
Greek: used for diseases, conditions, diagnoses and treatments
Latin: used for body parts, anatomical terms

18. Learning Check
How do you Combine the root (nephr) , meaning “kidney,” with the suffix (-itis), meaning “inflammation,” to form a word meaning “inflammation of the kidney.”?
How do you combine the root (rhin), meaning “nose” with the suffix (-plasty) meaning “surgical repair or molding”, to form a word meaning surgery of the nose?

19. Common word roots
Cyst: bladder, sac Cyt: cell Derm, dermat: skin Electr: electricity Encephal: brain Enter: intestines Erythr: red Esthesi: feeling Gastr: stomach Ger, geront: aged, elderly Gynec: woman, female Hemat, hem: blood Hepat: liver Hist: tissue
Aden: gland
Algesi: sensitivity to pain
Arthr: joint
Append, appendic: appendix
Angi: vessel
Arteri: artery
Bi: life
Bronchi: bronchus
Cardi: heart
Cephal: head
Col: colon
Cyan: blue

20. Common word roots Leuk: white Mast: breast My: muscle Nat: birth
Opt, optic: vision
Orth: straight
Path: disease
Ped: child
Pharmac: medicine
Pod: foot
Psych: mind
Radi: x-rays
Rhin: nose
Therapeut: treatment
Therm: heat
Thromb: clot
Tonsill: tonsils
Tox, toxic: poison
Trache: trachea (wind pipe)
Leuk: white
Mast: breast
My: muscle
Nat: birth
Nephr, ren: kidney
Neur: nerve
Odont, dent: tooth
Onc: tumor
Ophthalm: eye
Or: mouth
Oste: bone
Ot: ear

21. Common Surgical Suffixes
-centesis: surgical puncture -clasis, -clast: to break -desis: binding -ectomy: excision, removal -lysis: destruction, separation, loosening -pexy: fixation (of an organ) -plasty: surgical repair
-rrhaphy: suture
-stomy: forming an opening
-tome: instrument to cut
-tomy: incision
-tripsy: crushing

22. Diagnostic suffixes
-gram: record, writing -graph: instrument for recording -graphy: process of recording -meter: instrument for measuring -metry: process of measuring -ospy: viewing -pathy: disease -scope: instrument for viewing -scopy: visual examination

23. Pathological Suffixes
-malacia: softening -megaly: enlargement -oma: tumor -paresis: weakening -penia: decrease, deficiency -phobia: fear -plegia: paralysis -osis: abnormal condition, increase
-algia, -dynia: pain -cele: hernia, swelling -crine: to secrete -ectasis: dilation, expansion -edema: swelling -emesis: vomiting -emia: blood condition -itis: inflammation -lith: stone, calculus

24. Pathological Suffixes
-rrhage, -rrhagia: bursting forth -rrhea: discharge, flow -rrhexis: rupture -sclerosis: hardening -stenosis: narrowing -toxic: poison -trophy: nourishment, development -iasis: abnormal condition produced by something specific

25. Other suffixes -ar, -ic, -al, -ary, -ial, -ous, -ac: pertaining to
-iatrics, -iatry: medicine
-logy: study of
-algia, -dynia: pain
-ad: toward
-ago, -ia, -osis, -ism: abnormal condition
-ist, -logist: specialist
-iatrician: one who practices
-gen, -genesis: forming, producing, origin

26. Common Prefixes
Macro-: large Mal-: bad Medi-: middle Micro-: small Mono-, uni-: one Multi-, poly-: many Post-: after Pre-, pro-, ante-: before, in front of Primi-: first Retro-: backward, behind Super-: above, upper Heter-: other, different
A-, an-: not, without Bi-, di-: two Circum-, peri-: around Dia-, trans-: across, through Dipl-, diplo-: double Dys-: bad, painful, difficult Epi-: above Endo-, intra-: in, within Homo-, homeo-: same Hypo-, sub-, infra-: under, below Hyper-: above, excessive Hemi-: one half

27. Writing Medical Terms Pertaining to above the heart Red blood cell
Weakening of the bones
Inflammation of the brain
Tumor of the liver

28. Group Activity
In groups of two, come up with at least 10 examples of words using combining words and the different suffixes
Write down the word and its meaning on a piece of paper
Put all group members names on the paper