Medical Term

• Medical terminology is a special vocabulary used by health care professionals for effective and accurate communication
• Medical terminology is based mainly on Greek and Latin words
• Medical terminology is consistent and uniform throughout the world
• Although some medical terms are long, they often reduce an entire phrase to a single word
• The fundamental unit of each medical word is the root
• A suffix is a short word part or series of parts added at the end of a root to modify its meaning
• A prefix is a short word part added before a root to modify its meaning
• Most medical roots are derived from other languages and are meant to be used in combinations
• The root establishes the basic meaning of the word and is the part to which modifying prefixes and suffixes are added
• Examples of roots and their meanings:

  • Kardia (Greek) meaning "heart" gives us the root cardi
  • Pulmo (Latin) meaning "lung" gives us the root pulm
  • Myel means "marrow" and may apply to bone marrow or spinal cord
  • Scler means "hard" and may apply to the white of the eye
  • Cyst means "a filled sac or pouch" but also refers specifically to the urinary bladder
• When combining forms, a combining vowel is added to the root before adding a suffix
• Examples of combining forms:

  • Neur + o + logy = neurology (study of the nervous system)
  • Neur + itis = neuritis (inflammation of a nerve)
• Prefixes and their meanings:

  • E- for electronic
  • X- for extreme
  • Tel/e- meaning "far"
  • Nan/o meaning "one billionth"
  • Geri- pertaining to old age
  • Pedi- or pedia- meaning "child"
  • Endo- signifies endoscopic instruments
  • Steri- implies sterility or cleanliness
• • Extension: Increasing angle with frontal plane
  • Flexion: Decreasing angle with frontal plane
  • Abduction: Moving away from the sagittal plane
  • Adduction: Moving toward the sagittal plane
  • Lateral rotation: Movement around an axis or bone away from the midsagittal plane
  • Medial rotation: Movement around an axis or bone toward the midsagittal plane
  • Protraction: Moving forward along a surface
  • Retraction: Moving backward along a surface
• Anatomical terms:

  • Anterior: Toward the front
  • Posterior: Toward the back
  • Superior: Upper or above
  • Inferior: Lower or below
  • Ventral: Anterior
  • Dorsal: Posterior
  • Cephalad or cranial: Head
  • Caudal or caudad: Tail, tail end
  • Medial: Toward the midline of the body
  • Lateral: Away from the midline of the body
  • Proximal: Toward a reference point
  • Distal: Away from a reference point
  • Circumduction: Combined movements of flexion, extension, abduction, adduction, medial and lateral rotation
  • Depression: Lowering a structure
  • Elevation: Raising a structure
• • Chlor/o + Green = Chlorophyll
  • Chrom-, Chromato- + Color = Chromosome
  • Cyano-, + Blue = Cyanosis
  • Erythr/o- + Red = Erythrocyte
  • Leuk/o- + White = Leukocyte
  • Melan/o - Black = Melanin