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Introduction to Medical Terminology

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Introduction• Special vocabulary used by health care professionals

for effective and accurate communication• Most medical terms have Greek or Latin origins. • These terms date back to the founding of modern

medicine by the Greeks and by the influence of Latin when it was the universal language in the Western world.

• Other languages, such as German and French, have also influenced medical terms.

• Today, many new terms are derived from English, which is considered the universal language.

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1. psychology: the study of

2. pathology: the study of

3. hematology: the study of

4. cardiology: the study of

5. dermatology: the study of

6. gerontology: the study of

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Good news??!

• The good news is that there are only about 300 Latin and Greek word elements,

• From which thousands of medical terms may be formed.

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• Most medical terms have three basic component parts: the root, the suffix, and the prefix.

• Each term is formed by combining at least one root (the foundation or subject of the word), and a suffix (the word ending that modifies and gives essential meaning to the root).

• A prefix is placed at the beginning of a term only when needed, to further modify the root or roots.

TERM COMPONENTS

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• Root– Fundamental unit of each medical word– Establishes basic meaning of word– Part to which prefixes and suffixes are added

• Suffix– Short word part or parts added to the end of a

word– Modifies the meaning of the root– Indicated by a dash before the suffix (-itis)

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• Prefix– Short word part added before a root– Modifies the meaning of the root– Followed by a dash (pre-)

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• Breaking down and defining the key components in a term often defines the term or gives clues to its meaning. In the term lipemia, lip is the ………..that means………… , and -emia is the…………. that means……..

• (root, fat, suffix, blood condition)

• Memorizing key medical term components makes it possible to decipher that the term refers to the condition of ……..in the…….

• (fat, blood)

EXERCISE 1

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PATTERNS OF TERM FORMATION

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1. Root/Suffix• cardi/ac means……• pertaining to the heart2. Prefix/Root/Suffix• epi/card/ium means….• structure or tissue upon the heart3. Prefix/Prefix/Root/Suffix• sub/endo/cardi/al means• pertaining to below or under and within the heart4. Root/Combining Vowel/Root/Suffix• cardi/o/vascul/ar means• pertaining to the heart and vessels

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5. Root/Combining Vowel/Suffix• cardi/o/logy means• study of the heart6. Root/Combining Vowel/Suffix (Symptomatic) • cardi/o/dynia means• pain in the heart7. Root/Combining Vowel/Suffix (Diagnostic)• cardi/o/rrhexis means• rupture of the heart8. Root/Combining Vowel/Suffix (Operative) • cardi/o/rrhaphy means• suture of the heart

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Exceptions• Most medical terms are formed by combining a root or

roots and modified by suffixes and prefixes.

• Occasionally, terms are formed by a root alone or a combination of roots.

• Example: duct | Root to lead

ovi/duct | | Root/Root | | egg/to lead

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• Oviduct refers to the uterine tube.• Sometimes, a term is formed from the

combination of a prefix and suffix.• Example: meta/stasis | | Prefix/Suffix | | beyond, after, or change/stop or stand

• Metastasis refers to the spread of a disease, such as cancer, from one location to another.

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COMBINING FORMS AND COMBINING VOWELS

• 1. psych o logy = psychology• 2. path o logy = pathology• When a medical term has more than one root, the roots are

joined together by a vowel, usually an “o.” • the “o” is used to link the two parts and it provides easier

pronunciation. • This vowel is known as a combining vowel. • “O” is the most common combining vowel (i is the second

most common) and is used so frequently to join root to root or root to suffix that it is routinely attached to the root and presented as a combining form.

• A combining form is…….. a with a………. attached.

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DEFINING MEDICAL TERMS THROUGH WORD STRUCTURE ANALYSIS

• You can usually define a term by interpreting the suffix first, then the prefix (if present), then the root or roots.

• Example: pericarditis• peri/ card/ itis | | | prefix root suffix | | |• around heart inflammation• pericarditis (inflammation around the heart)

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• Beginning students often have difficulty differentiating between prefixes and roots (or combining forms) because the root appears first in a medical term when a prefix is not used.

• It is important to memorize the most common prefixes so that you can tell the difference.

• Also, keep in mind that a prefix is used only as needed to further modify the root or roots.

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RULES FOR FORMING AND SPELLINGMEDICAL TERMS

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F IVE BASIC RULESFOR FORMING AN D SPELLING M EDICAL

TERMS

1. If the root ends in a consonant (any letter except a, e, i, o, u) and the suffix begins with a consonant, insert a combining vowel (usually an “o”) between the component parts

• hepat/o -megaly is spelled hepatomegaly and is defined as……….

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2. A combining vowel is not used before a suffix that begins with vowel: vas/o -ectomy is spelled vasectomy and is defined as…….

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/o -itis is spelled carditis and is defined as……..

4. Most often, a combining vowel is inserted between two roots even when the second root begins with a vowel: cardi/o esophag/o -eal is spelled cardioesophageal and is defined as………..

5. Occasionally, when a prefix ends in a vowel, and the root begins with a vowel, the final vowel is dropped from the prefix: para- enter/o -al is spelled parenteral and is defined as……..

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EXERCISE 21. angi/o -ectasis is spelled……and means………• angiectasis• expansion or dilation of a vessel2. hemat/o -logy is spelled…… and means…..• hematology• study of blood3. gastr/o enter/o -stomy is spelled….and means…• gastroenterostomy• creation of an opening (between) stomach and small

intestine

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5. oligo- ur/o -ia is spelled…… and means…….• oliguria• condition of defcient urine

6. oste/o -ectomy is spelled…… and means…….• ostectomy• excision (removal) of bone

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SPELLING MEDICAL TERMS• Correct spelling of medical terms is crucial for

communication among health care professionals.• Careless spelling causes misunderstandings that can have

serious consequences. • The following list shows some of the pitfalls to avoid.

1. Some words sound the same but are spelled differently and have different meanings. Context is the clue to spelling.

For example, • ileum (part of the intestine) and ilium (part of the hip

bone)• sitology (study of food) cytology (study of cells)

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2. Other words sound similar but are spelled differently and have different meanings. For example,

• abduction (to draw away from) adduction (to draw toward)

• hepatoma (liver tumor) hematoma (blood tumor)

• aphagia (inability to swallow) aphasia (inability to speak)

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3. Some words have more than one accepted spelling. For example,

• orthopedic orthopaedic• leukocyte leucocyte

4. Some combining forms have the same meaning but different origins that compete for usage.

For example, three combining forms mean uterus:• hyster/o (Greek)• metr/o (Greek)• uter/o (Latin)

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RULES OF PRONUNCIATION

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Abbreviations

• Can save time

• May cause confusion

• Acronym = abbreviation formed from first letter of each word in a phrase– ASAP = as soon as possible

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