Medical Terminology

• The prefix "macro-" means large or long.
• Medical Terminology - is a special vocabulary used by health care professional for effective and accurate communication
• Fundamental unit of each medical word

  Root word
• Word added after a root word


  Suffix
• Word added before a root word 


  Prefix
• Cardio - heart
• gram- radiographic examination
• electro- electricity
• Heart- electric conduction system
• Greek (G)

  Latin (L)
• Vowel

  C
• Consonant


  G
• Dermatology


  G(greek)
• Cutis


  L(latin)
• Cutis- Cutaneous
• Combining vowel


  Usually an o and occas an i, it makes word pronunciation easier.
• When vowel is added to a root word, it is called?

  Combining form
• Word- ending with “x”
• rhea- flow
• Rhagia- outburst
• Hem(blood)orrhagia(condition of) 


  condition of bursting of blood
• -ian medical practitioner -pediatrician. - medical practitioner that specializes in the care and treatment for children
• -ist medical professionals -physicist -medical professional that specializes with physics
• -logy medical specialization -astrology
• -ics medical specialization -Orthodontics Medical specialization on teeth straightening/repair.
• -iatrics medical specialization -Pediatrics Specialization on care and treatment for children
• -Iatry medical specialization -Psychiatry Specialization on the study of mind
• Suffix that means ”condition of”

  -ia condition of - de(lack/lost)ment(mental)ia -condition of lost of mind

  -y “ -atony -lack of tone

  -sis “ -lordosis

  -ism ” -dwarfism -abnormal cessation of growth
• Lordotic curve- anterior
• Kyphotic curve- posterior
• Suffix that means “pertaining to“ or “referring to“/“resembling to”

  -ac -cardiac - referring to the heart

  -al -vocal - voice

  -ar -ocular - eyes

  -ic -thoracic -thorax

  -ile -virile - man

  -ary -salivary -saliva

  -ous -porous - referring to pores

  -ory -auditory -audio

  -oid -lymphoid - tissue, cell / organ

  -form -muciform -pertaining to mucous
• Plural form- more than 2
• Pluralization rules for medical terms:

  • For words ending in -a, the plural ending is -ae, e.g., Vertebra becomes Vertebrae
  • For words ending in -en, the plural ending is -ina, e.g., Lumen becomes Lumina
  • For words ending in -ex, -ix, -yx, the plural ending is -ices, e.g., Matrix becomes Matrices
  • For words ending in -is, the plural ending is -es, e.g., Diagnosis becomes Diagnoses
  • For words ending in -ma, the plural ending is -mata, e.g., Stigma becomes Stigmata
  • For words ending in -nx, the plural ending is -nges, e.g., Phalanx becomes Phalanges
  • For words ending in -on, the plural ending is -A, e.g., Ganglion becomes Ganglia
  • For words ending in -om, the plural ending is -A, e.g., Serum becomes Sera
  • For words ending in -us, the plural ending is -i, e.g., Thrombus becomes Thrombi
• Compound Words


  Contain more than one root
• Example of compound words


  Cardiovascular (pertaining to the heart and blood vessels)
• Combining Forms

  A root with a combining vowel
• Word Ending in X


  When you add suffix to a word ending in x, the x is changed to a g or a c. If there is a consonant before the x, such as yx or nx, the x change to a g.
• Suffixes beginning with rh


  When you add a suffix beginning with rh to a root, the r is doubled.
• Phrase Abbreviations

  An acronym is an abbreviation formed from the first letter of each word in a phrase.
• Symbols


  are commonly used as shorthand in case histories.