LEARNING BASIC MEDICAL

TERMINOLOGY STEP BY STEP

dr. I Nyoman Gede Wardana, S.Ked.,M.Biomed
Anatomy Department Udayana Medical Faculty
Purpose
• 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, medical
terminology is consistent and uniform throughout the
world. It is also efficient; although some of the terms
are long, they often reduce an entire phrase to a single
word.
• The one word gastroduodenostomy, for example,
stands for “a communication between the stomach and
the first part of the small intestine”
 Word Parts
• Four basic types of word parts are used to
create complex medical terms:
– Word roots
– Combining forms
– Suffixes
– Prefixes
 How to Analyze Medical Terms
periarthritis
peri prefix around
arthr root joint
it is suffix inflamation
“inflamation around a joint
 Terms with no Prefix
Arthritis
Gastritis
Hepatitis
Find their meaning!!
Carditis
Adenitis
Cardiology
Gastrology
Hepatology
 Term with No Root
Neoplasm (NEE-oh-plazm)
Neo- “New”
-plasm “Growth”
 Term with Two Roots
• Osteoarthritis
– itis suffix “inflamation”
– oste/o root “bone”
Arthr root “joint”
Combining Vowel
 Combining Form
• The name given to a root that is followed by
combining vowel
• Example:
– Arthr/o
 Plurals
• diagnosis diagnoses
• bronchus bronchi
• sclera sclerae
• acetabulum acetabula
• calyx calyces
 SUFFIXES
• First word parts to examine when analyzing a
term
• May indicate that word is a noun or ad
adjective
• Suffixes signify pathologic conditions,
diagnostic, and surgical procedures
Suffixes Used to Indicated Pathologic Conditions

• -algia pain
• -dynia pain (gastrodynia, mastodynia)
• -cele hernia (protrusion or displacement of an organ through a
structure that normally contains it) (rectocele,
encephalocele)
• -emesis vomitting (hematemesis)
• -emia blood condition (glycemia)
• -ia state of; condition (pneumonia)
• -itis inflammation
• -lysis destruction; separation; breakdown (hemolysis)
• -malacia softening (cerebromalacia, chondromalacia)
• -megaly enlargement ((visceromegaly, hepatomegaly)
• -oma tumor; mass (lipoma, myoma)
• -osis abnormal condition (nephorsis)
• -pathy disease process (ureteropathy)
• -penia decrease, deficiency (cytopenia)
• -phobia irrational fear (acrophobia)
• -ptosis downward displacement (blepharoptosis,
nephroptosis
• -ptysis spitting (hemoptysis)
• -rrhage; rrhagia bursting forth (hemorrhage, gastrorrhagia)
• -rrhea flow; discharge (otorrhea)
• -rrhexis rupture (splenorrhexis)
• -sclerosis hardening (arteriosclerosis)
• -spasm sudden, involuntary contraction (blepharospasm)
• -stenosis narrowing; stricture (phlebostenosis)
• -y; -ion process (neuropathy, microencephaly)
Suffixes Used to Indicate Diagnostic Procedures

• -gram record; writing (lymphangiogram)

• -graph instrument used to record (cardiograph)
• -graphy process of recording; producing images
(mammography)
• -meter instrument used to measure; process of measuring
(carniometer)
• -metry to measure; measurement (pelvimetry)
• -opsy to view (biopsy)
• -scope instrument used to visually examine (a body cavity
or organ) (bronchoscope)
• -scopy process of visually examining (a body cavity or
organ) (bronchoscopy)
 Suffixes Used to Indicate Surgical Procedures

• -centesis surgical puncture to remove fluid (thoracocentesis)

• -desis surgical binding; surgical fusion (arthrodesis)
• -ectomy excision; surgical removal (tonsillectomy)
• -pexy surgical fixation (nephopexy)
• -plasty surgical reconstruction; surgical repair
(orchidoplasy)
• -rrhaphy suture; sew (colporraphy)
• -stasis stoppage; stopping; controlling (hemostasis)
• -stomy new opening; artificial opening (tracheostomy)
• -tome instrument used to cut (myotome)
• -tomy process of cutting; incision (tenotomy)
General Suffixes

• -cyte cell
• -er; -ician; -logist; -ist specialist; who specializes; specialist in
the study of
• -ion process (section)
• -logy study of; process of study
• -or one who; person or thing that does
something (donor)
• -plasia formation; development
• -poiesis production; manufacture; formation
• -gnosis knowledge
Adjectival Suffixes

• -genic produced by; producing (carcinogenic)

• -oid resembling (osteoid)
• -ole; -ule small (bronchiole, venule)
• -ac; -al; -ary; -eal; -ic; -ous pertaining to (cardiac, renal, mammary
pharyngeal, gastric, venous)
 Prefixes

Prefixes tell us how, why, where, how much,

how many, what position, and what direction
Prefixes Referring to Direction and Position

• Ab- away from (abduction)

• Ad- toward (adduction)
• Ante- before (antenatal)
• Circum- around (circumduction)
• Dia- through; complete (diameter)
• Ecto- outside (ectogenous)
• Endo- within (endoscope)
• Epi- upon; on; above (epigastric)
• e-; ex-; exo-; extra- out; outward; outside
(eversion, excision,
extraocular)
• Hyper- exsessive; above
(hyperplacia)
• Hypo- below; under; deficit
(hypogastric)
• In- in; into (incision, inversion)
• Infra- below; beneath (infracostal)
• Inter- between (intercellular)
• Intra- within (intracranial)
• Meta- beyond (metaplasia)
• Para- beside; near (paranasal)
• Per- through (percutaneus)
• Peri- around (perineuritis)
• Post- after (postmortem)
• Pre- before; in front of (prenatal)
• Pro- before (prognosis)
• Retro- back; behind (retroversion)
• Sub- under; below (subcutaneous)
• Supra- above (suprarenal)
• Trans- across (transection)
• Ultra- beyond (ultrasonography)
Negative Prefixes

• Anti- against (antiotic)

• A-; an- no; not; lack of (aseptic,
anemia)
• Contra- against; opposite (contralateral)
• In- not (indigestible)
Prefixes Referring to Numbers

• Bi-; di- two (bilateral,disection)

• Hemi-; semi- half (hemigastrectomy)
• Mono-; uni- one (monocyte)
• Multi-; poly- many (multiform,
polyadenoma)
• Quadri- four (quadrilateral)
• Tri- three (tricuspid)
THANK YOU