Chapter 6

• Medical term


  A word used in the medical field to describe a body part, condition, procedure, etc.
• Medical terms


  • Made of distinct parts that perform specific functions
  • Changing or deleting any part can change the meaning
• Components of medical terms

  • Word root
  • Prefix
  • Suffix
  • Combining vowels
• Word root


  The main part or stem of a word that conveys the essential meaning, frequently indicating a body part
• Prefix


  Part of a term that appears at the beginning and usually describes location or intensity
• Suffix


  Placed at the end of words and usually indicates a procedure, condition, disease, or part of speech
• Combining vowel


  The part of a term that connects a word root to a suffix or other word root, usually an 'o' but may also be an 'i' or 'e'
• Word building rules


  1. Prefix is always at the beginning

  2. Suffix is at the end

  3. Use a combining vowel when a suffix begins with a consonant or when a term has more than one word root
• Plural endings


  • Add 's' (lung to lungs)
  • Change 'a' to 'ae' (vertebra to vertebrae)
  • Change 'is' to 'es' (diagnosis to diagnoses)
  • Change 'ex' or 'ix' to 'ices' (apex to apices)
  • Change 'on' or 'um' to 'a' (ganglion to ganglia, ovum to ova)
  • Change 'us' to 'i' (bronchus to bronchi)
• Prefixes indicating


  • Numbers
  • Colors
  • Positions and directions
• Superior


  Nearer to the head
• Inferior


  Nearer to the feet
• Lateral


  Outer, farther from the midline
• Medial


  Inner, closer to the midline
• Proximal


  Closer to the trunk
• Distal


  Farther from the trunk, nearer to the free end of the extremity
• Superficial


  Closer to or on the skin
• Deep


  Farther inside the body or tissue, away from the skin
• Ventral


  Refers to the belly side of the body, anterior surface
• Dorsal


  Refers to the spinal side of the body, posterior surface
• Palmar


  The front region of the hand, the palm
• Plantar


  The bottom of the foot
• Apex


  The tip of a structure
• Flexion


  Bending of a joint
• Extension


  Straightening of a joint
• Adduction


  Motion toward the midline
• Abduction


  Motion away from the midline
• Bilateral


  Both sides of the midline
• Unilateral


  Only one side of the body
• Prone


  Lying face down
• Supine


  Lying face up
• Fowler position


  Semi-reclining with head elevated to help the patient breathe easier and control the airway
• Semi-Fowler


  Patient sits at a 45-degree angle
• High-Fowler


  Patient sits at a 90-degree angle
• Breaking terms apart


  Define the suffix first, then the prefix, and then the word root
• Fowler position


  Patient sitting upright
• Superficial landmarks


  • Serve as guides to the structures that lie beneath them
• Breaking terms apart


  1. When trying to define a term, begin with the suffix and work backward

  2. If the term also contains a prefix, define the suffix, then the prefix, and then the word root
• Topographic anatomy


  Applies to the body in the anatomic position, so that everyone is referring to the body in the same way

  
• Nephropathy


  • nephr/o/pathy
  • -pathy (means "disease")
  • o (combining form)
  • nephr (meaning "kidney")
  • nephropathy = disease of the kidney