Medical terminology forms the foundation of effective communication within the healthcare field. Comprehensive understanding of Medical Terminology is essential for healthcare professionals to convey precise information about diseases, conditions, treatments, and anatomy.
Key Components of Medical Terms:
Putting it Together:
Let’s consider the term “cardiologist”:
Combining these, a “cardiologist” is a medical professional specializing in the study and treatment of heart-related conditions.
Practical Application:
Imagine a patient with “hypertension”:
Putting it together, “hypertension” refers to abnormally high blood pressure.
Root Words in Medical Terminology
Most medical terms have a base called a ‘root word’ which carries the main meaning of the term. To make these terms more precise, we often add beginnings (prefixes) and endings (suffixes).
Most Common Root Words in Medical English:
Root Word | Meaning | Example |
---|---|---|
Cardio | Heart | Cardiovascular (related to the heart and blood vessels) |
Derm | Skin | Dermatology (study and treatment of skin disorders) |
Gastro | Stomach | Gastroenterology (study of the digestive system) |
Hemo | Blood | Hematology (study of blood and its disorders) |
Neur | Nerve | Neurology (study of the nervous system) |
Osteo | Bone | Osteoporosis (condition of weak and brittle bones) |
Pneumo | Lungs or Air | Pneumonia (lung inflammation) |
Carcino | cancer | carcinogenic (cancer causing) |
Ren | Kidney | Renal (related to the kidneys) |
Opthalm | Eye | Ophthalmology (study and treatment of eye disorders) |
Prefixes are added at the beginning of a word, altering its meaning. For example, “anti-” means against, as seen in “antibiotic” (against bacteria).
Most Common Prefixes in Medical English:
Quantity and Number:
Prefix | Meaning | Example |
---|---|---|
Bi- | Two; double | Bifocal |
Mono/Uni | One; single | Monocular |
Tri- | Three | Tricycle |
Size and Amount:
Prefix | Meaning | Example |
---|---|---|
Acro- | Top; extremities | Acromegaly |
Macro- | Large | Macroscopic |
Micro-, Micr- | Tiny; small | Microscope |
Hemi- | Half; half of | Hemicycle |
Time:
Prefix | Meaning | Example |
---|---|---|
Ante- | Before | Antedate |
Post- | After | Postoperative |
Pre-, Pro- | In front of; before | Prenatal |
Relations:
Prefix | Meaning | Example |
---|---|---|
Co-, Con-, Com- | Together; with | Conjoined |
Inter- | Between | Intercostal |
Intra- | Within; in | Intramuscular |
Direction and Position:
Prefix | Meaning | Example |
---|---|---|
Ab- | Away from | Abduction |
Ad- | Toward | Adduction |
Ante- | Before; forward | Antenatal |
Anti-, Anter- | Opposing; against | Antisocial |
Bi- | Two; double | Bifocal |
Ecto- | Outside | Ectopic |
Extra-, Extro- | Beyond; outside of | Extracellular |
Hyper- | Above; excessive; beyond | Hypertension |
Hyp-, Hypo- | Below; beneath; deficient | Hypothermia |
Inter- | Between | Intercostal |
Intra- | Within; inside | Intravenous |
Post- | After; following; behind | Postoperative |
Retro- | Behind; backward | Retrograde |
Trans- | Through or across | Transdermal |
Suffixes are added at the end of words to change their meaning or grammatical category. For instance, “-itis” signifies inflammation as in “bronchitis” (inflammation of the bronchial tubes).
Pertaining to
Suffix | Meaning | Example |
---|---|---|
-ary | Pertaining to | Pulmonary (pertaining to lungs) |
-ic | Pertaining to | Cardiac (pertaining to the heart) |
Process/Action
Suffix | Meaning | Example |
---|---|---|
-ation | Process | Respiration (process of breathing) |
-ation | Process | Ovulation (process of releasing an egg) |
-ing | Action | Breathing (action of inhaling and exhaling) |
-ing | Action | Walking (action of moving on foot) |
Condition/State
Suffix | Meaning | Example |
---|---|---|
-itis | Inflammation | Arthritis (inflammation of joints) |
-osis | Condition | Osteoporosis (condition of weak bones) |
-emia | Condition | Anemia (condition of low red blood cells) |
Person/Occupation
Suffix | Meaning | Example |
---|---|---|
-ist | Person | Cardiologist (a person specialized in cardiology) |
-ician | Person | Pediatrician (a person specialized in pediatrics) |
Instrument/Device
Suffix | Meaning | Example |
---|---|---|
-scope | Instrument | Endoscope (instrument for internal examination) |
-graph | Instrument | Electrocardiograph (instrument for recording heart activity) |
Pertaining to Study/Science
Suffix | Meaning | Example |
---|---|---|
-logy | Study/Science | Biology (study of living organisms) |
-ics | Study/Science | Physics (study of matter and energy) |
Process/Condition
Suffix | Meaning | Example |
---|---|---|
-phobia | Condition | Arachnophobia (fear of spiders) |
-philia | Condition | Hemophilia (a medical condition) |
Size/Comparison
Suffix | Meaning | Example |
---|---|---|
-mega | Large | Megacolon (enlarged colon) |
-micro | Small | Microorganism (a tiny organism) |
Others
Suffix | Meaning | Example |
---|---|---|
-pathy | Disease | Neuropathy (disease of the nervous system) |
-ectomy | Surgical removal | Appendectomy (removal of the appendix) |
-plasty | Surgical repair | Rhinoplasty (surgical repair of the nose) |