common medical terms and abbreviation

• Medical prefix


  A prefix employed in medical terminology. Medical words are often put together, cobbled from two or more building blocks. Among these building blocks are the prefixes.
• 1. 
     

  Prefix much employed in the health sciences indicating "not, without, -less"
• ab-


  Prefix from the Latin meaning "from, away from, off"
• ad-

  Latin prefix meaning "toward" and "in the direction of"
• alb-


  Prefix from the Latin root for the color white, "albus"
• colpo-


  A combining form usually used as a prefix from the Greek "kolpos" meaning a fold, cleft, or hollow, often in reference to the vagina
• dextro-


  From the Latin "dexter" meaning on the right side
• dia-

  Prefix taken straight from the Greek meaning through, throughout, completely
• entero-


  Combining form pointing to the intestine (the gut)
• hetero-


  Combining form from the Greek "heteros" meaning different
• homo-


  Combining form from the Greek "homos" meaning "same"
• hyper-


  Means high, beyond, excessive, above normal
• hypo-


  Prefix meaning low, under, beneath, down, below normal
• iatr-


  Prefix relating to a physician or medicine
• kerato-


  Can refer to the cornea or to "horny" tissue
• leuko-


  Prefix meaning white from the Greek "leukos"
• levo-


  From the Latin "laevus" meaning on the left side
• litho-


  Prefix meaning stone
• macro-


  From the Greek "makros" meaning large or long
• mega-


  From the Greek "megas", great or big and means abnormally large
• melan-


  Prefix meaning dark or black
• micro-


  From the Greek "mikros" meaning small
• neo-


  New. From the Greek "neos", new, young, fresh, recent
• oligo-


  Means just a few, scanty
• onycho-


  Having to do with the nails
• osteo-


  Combining form meaning bone
• oto-


  Combining form meaning ear
• patho-


  Derived from the Greek "pathos" meaning "suffering or disease"
• phlebo-


  Means vein
• pneumo-


  Combining form pertaining to breathing, respiration, the lungs, pneumonia, or air
• poly-


  From the Greek "polys", many
• pro-


  A combining form with many meanings including "before, in front of, preceding, on behalf of, in place of, and the same as"
• quasi-


  Prefix meaning seemingly
• toc-


  From the Greek word "tokos" meaning childbirth
• trans-


  From the Latin meaning "across, over, or beyond"
• Prescription


  An order for medication issued by a physician, dentists, veterinarian or other properly licensed practitioner
• The prescription is one of the most important therapeutic transactions between physician and patient
• The art of prescription writing is an ancient inheritance
• The ancients started their prescription with an appeal to the gods for its success
• The ancient symbol, Rx, signifying the appeal, was established centuries ago and has been carried down to the present time