Key concepts of medical terminology

Just the facts

In this chapter, you’ll learn:

♦ dissection of medical terms
♦ meaning and determination of medical terms using roots,
prefixes, and suffixes.

Dissecting Medical Terms

Because many medical terms derive from Greek and
Deciphering
Latin, learning medical terminology is like learning a
medical
new language. Understanding these terms can be easier terminology
if you know how to analyze key elements and identify requires
word associations. deduction, my
Take it apart dear Watson.

Most medical terms are a combination of two or more

parts. If you can successfully interpret each part, you
can usually grasp the essential meaning of the word.
Thus, interpreting the meaning of a medical term
require knowledge of common medical roots, prefixes,
and suffixes.

Root it out
A root is the essential component of a word. Many
medical roots signify a disease, procedure, or body part.
Some roots appear at the beginning of a word, whereas
others appear after a prefix. In addition, two or more
roots may be combined to form a word, as in cardi-o-
pulmonary and cardi-o-vascular. The letter o is the
most using combining vowel.
Here are some examples of roots used in different
positions:
 KEY CONCEPTS OF MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY

• a root at the beginning of a word-angioedema (angi

is a root that means vessel)
• a root in the middle of a word-encephalic (cephal is
a root that means head)
• a root at the end of a word-scleroderma (derm is a If you can understand
root that means skin) the building blocks,
• a combination of roots-phototherapy (photo is a root then you’ll have the
that means light; therapy is a root that mean treatment). foundation for
In the beginning learning even the most
A prefix consists of one or more letters attached to the complicated medical
beginning of a root. Many prefixes used for medical terminology.

terms are also applied to standard English vocabulary.

To determine the meaning of a prefix in a medical term,
consider a familiar word that begins with the same
prefix. For example, the prefix anti- has the same
meaning-against-in both antislavery and antihistamine,
literally against slavery and against histamine (the
compound that produces allergic reactions).
At last
A suffix is one or more letters attached to the end of a
root. When a suffix begins with a consonant, a
combining vowel, such as o, is placed before the suffix.
Common use of suffixes in medical terminology
includes adding a -y to a word to denote a procedure,
such as gastroscopy, which means endoscopic
examination of the stomach. Similarly, adding -ly to
word denotes an act or process; for example,
splenomegaly, which means the abnormal enlargement
of the spleen.

Break it down, build it up

With a bit of practice, you'll quickly discover how easy
can be interpret the parts of a medical term and then
combine them to identify the term's meaning. For
example, in acrocyanosis, the root acr (extremities) and
the vowel o are combined with the root cyan (blue) and
the suffix -osis (condition) to form a term that means a
condition characterized by blue extremities. (For another
example of how to dissect a medical term to decipher its
meaning, see 'Dem bones.)
 PRONOUNCING MEDICAL TERMS

Beyond the dictionary

‘Dem bones

A specialist in osteopathology studies bone disease. The root

oste is the Greek word for bone. A second root, patho, is
derived from pathos, meaning disease. The suffix logy is
derived from the root logia, meaning the study of. Put these
parts together and you have the definition for osteopathology-
the study of bone diseases.

At the root of disease?

A branch of medicine called osteopathy contends that skeletal
misalignment impinges on adjacent nerves and blood vessels,
causing disease.

Forming plural words

Plural words in English are usually formed by adding s
or es to the end of a noun. These rules for forming
plurals of many medical terms are different because of
their Greek and Latin roots. Generally, plural words
derived from these two languages are formed by adding
or substituting vowels or syllables at the end of the word.
Examples of plurals of medical terms are:
• maculae (singular: macula)
• adenomata (singular: adenoma)
• glomeruli (singular: glomerulus)
• pelves (singular: pelvis).

Pronouncing medical terms

Medical terms can be difficult to pronounce if you’ve
never heard them spoken. In this book, we’ll show you
how to pronounce words by placing them in all capital
letters, with the syllable receiving the greatest stress
appearing in tall capitals and the remaining syllables in
smaller capitals. For example, in the word cancer, the
stress is on the first syllable, so it would appear as
follows: CAN-cer.
Here are some additional tips for pronunciation:
 KEY CONCEPTS OF MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY

• only the s sound in ps is pronounced, as in

Pseudomonas
• only the n sound in pn is pronounced, as in
pneumococcal
• g and c assume the soft sounds of j and s, respectively,
when used before e, I and y; examples are gene,
gingivitis, cycle, and cytology
• ph sound like f, as in phlegm
• x sounds like z, as in xeroderma (pronounced ZEE-
ROH-DER-MAH)
• g and c have hard sounds in front of other letters, such
as gangrene, gastritis, cornea and cortex
• ae and oe are pronounced ee, as in fasciae
• i at the end of a word usually denotes a plural and is
pronounced eye, as in fasciculi
• es at the end of a word may be pronounced as a Be careful! Words
separate syllable, as in nares, pronounced NEH-REEZ. like ileum and
Because phonetic spelling isn’t used in medicine, it’s ilium sound the
same but have
important to consult a dictionary when in doubt about different
pronunciation. Also, some terms sound the same but are meanings.
spelled differently and refer to different things. For
example, ileum and ilium are pronounced alike, but the
first term is part of the intestinal tract and the second one
is a pelvic bone.

Understanding eponyms
An eponym is a medical term that’s derived from the
name of a person, usually the scientist who discovered
the corresponding body part or disease. Many procedures
and tests are also named after the persons who invented
or perfected them.

Name that condition

Examples of eponyms for medical conditions include:

• Addison’s disease, a syndrome resulting from
insufficient production of hormones from the cortex of
the adrenal gland.
• Alzheimer’s disease, a type of irreversible dementia
• Cushing’s syndrome, a syndrome resulting from the
production of excess cortisol from the adrenal cortex
 RECOGNIZING WORD COMPONENTS

• Parkinson’s disease, a progressive degeneration of

the nervous system that causes weakness, rigidity, and
tremors
• Stokes-Adams syndrome, a heart condition
characterized by sudden loss of consciousness.
Famous body parts
Parts of the body named for their discoverers include:
• Bartholin’s glands, located in the female perineum
• Cowper’s glands, located beneath a portion of the male
urethra
• Wernicke’s center, a speech center in the brain.
Featured procedures
Examples of eponyms for medical procedures include:
• Allen’s test, a test for occlusion of radial or ulnar
arteries
• Belsey Mark IV operation, a procedure to correct
gastroesophageal reflux
• Heimlich maneuver, a technique for removing foreign
objects from the airway of a chocking victim.
What’s in a name?
Medical devices such as catheters (tubes passed through
body channels) are often named for their inventors; for
example:
• the Foley catheter is an indwelling urinary catheter
• a Hickman catheter is a central venous catheter
inserted for long-term use
• a Malecot catheter is a tube used for gastrostomy
feedings
• a Swan-Ganz catheter is threaded into the pulmonary
artery.

Recognizing word components

Words can be made up of roots, prefixes, and suffixes.

At the root of it all

A root is just what the word implies-where it all starts.
A root can be a whole word or part of a word. Roots come
from many different languages (such as Greek, Latin,
 KEY CONCEPTS OF MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY

Arabic, French, and German) and find their way into

English. Memory
Jogger
Perfect prefix To remember
A prefix is a word component or whole word that where a prefix goes and
attaches to the front of a root. A prefix can drastically where a suffix goes, you
change the meaning of a word. For example, the prefix can do two things.

extra-changes the word ordinary to extraordinary.

Super suffix Think of the word
A suffix is a word component that attaches to the end of prefix: Pre- means
before, so a prefix is a
a root. Among other feats, a suffix can change the form
word or word
of a word from an adjective, for instance, into an adverb. component that’s “fixed”
So you could add the suffix –ly to extreme to make to the word “before” the
extremely (as in extremely interesting). root. If the prefix comes
before the suffix comes
afterwards.

If that doesn’t jazz

Prefixes and you, just use the
suffixes are alphabet: P comes
before the S in the
important, but
alphabet, so a prefix
focus on the root comes before the s
of the word to get suffix-and before a root,
the meaning quickly. for that matter, which
starts with R. So now you
have PRS (pretty riveting
stuff).