med term final

final study guide

Word Root

The foundation of a medical term; contains the primary meaning

Combining Form

A word root plus a combining vowel (usually "o") used to join word parts

Suffix

A word element at the end of a word that changes its meaning

Prefix

A word element at the beginning of a word indicating number, time, position, or direction

-ectomy

Excision or surgical removal.

-centesis:

Surgical puncture to remove fluid

-tripsy:

Crushing (often used for stones).

-lysis:

Separation, destruction, or loosening.

-pexy

Surgical fixation of an organ.

-rrhaphy:

Suture or repair.

-plasty:

Surgical repair.

-stomy:

Forming a new opening (mouth).

-tomy:

Incision or cutting into.

-scope

Instrument for visual examination.

-scopy

Visual examination process.

• -graphy

• Process of recording.

• -gram

• The record or picture produced.

• -algia:

• Pain.

-itis:

• Inflammation.

• -oma

• Tumor.

• -megaly:

• Enlargement.

• -penia:

• Decrease or deficiency.

• -pathy:

• Disease.

• -rrhea:

• Discharge or flow.

• -stenosis:

• Narrowing or stricture.

• Epi-:

• Upon or above.

Hypo-:

• Deficient, below, or under.

Intra-:

• Within.

• Endo-

• Within or inner.

• Midsagittal Plane:

• Divides the body into equal right and left halves.

• Coronal (Frontal) Plane:

• Divides the body into anterior (front) and posterior (back) portions.

• Transverse (Horizontal) Plane

• Divides the body into upper and lower portions.

• RUQ / LUQ / RLQ / LLQ

• Right Upper, Left Upper, Right Lower, Left Lower Quadrants.

• Cyt/o:

• Cell.

• Hist/o

• Tissue.

• Anter/o:

• Front.

• Poster/o / Dors/o

back

• Later/o:

• Side.

• Erythr/o:

• Red

• Leuk/o:

• White.

• Cyan/o

• Blue.

• Xer/o

• Dry.

• Sepsis:

• Presence of pathogens in blood or tissues.

• Epidermis

• The outermost layer of skin.

• Dermis:

• The deep "true" layer of skin containing vessels and nerves.

• Subcutaneous:

• Pertaining to under the skin.

• Hidr/o

• Sweat

• Ichthy/o

• Dry or scaly.

• Kerat/o

• Horny tissue; hard

• Anhidrosis:

• Abnormal condition of being unable to sweat.

• Cryotherapy

• Treatment using extreme cold.

• Dermatome:

• Instrument used to cut thin slices of skin (for grafts).

• Cholelithiasis

• Abnormal condition of gallstones

• Cholecystectomy

• Surgical removal of the gallbladder.

• Dysphagia:

• Difficulty swallowing

• Postprandial

• Pertaining to after a meal.

• Sublingual:

• Pertaining to under the tongue.

• Hematemesis

• Vomiting blood.

• Ascites

• Abnormal accumulation of fluid in the abdomen

• Anastomosis:

• Surgical connection between two hollow vessels or ducts.

• COPD

• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (persistent lung airflow blockage).

• Emphysema:

• Lung condition where air sacs (alveoli) are damaged and lose elasticity.

• Tracheostomy

• Forming a permanent opening in the trachea.

• Oxymetry

• Act of measuring oxygen saturation in the blood.

• Myocardial Infarction (MI)

• Heart attack; death of heart muscle due to lack of oxygen.

• Endocardium:

• The inner lining of the heart.

• Aneurysm:

• Localized ballooning or dilation of a blood vessel wall.

• Fibrillation

• Rapid, irregular, and unsynchronized contraction of muscle fibers.

• Hem/o, Hemat/o

• Blood.

• Thromb/o

• Clot.

• Lymph/o:

• Lymph

• Splen/o:

• Spleen

• Thym/o

• Thymus

• Tonsill/o:

• Tonsil.

• Aden/o:

• Gland.

• Erythrocyte:

• Red blood cell.

• Thrombolysis

• Destruction or dissolving of a blood clot.

• Leukocyte:

• White blood cell.

• Hemopoiesis:

• The production/formation of blood cells.

• Hemostasis:

• The stopping of blood flow (standing still of blood).

• Thrombocytopenia:

• Abnormal decrease in the number of platelets (clotting cells).

• Hematoma

• A mass or tumor composed of blood (usually clotted).

• Lymphadenectomy

• Surgical removal of a lymph gland (node).

• Lymphangiography:

• Process of recording (radiography) of lymph vessels.

• Lymphadenotomy

• Incision into a lymph gland.

• Splenopexy:

• Surgical fixation of the spleen.

• Tonsillotomy:

• Incision into the tonsils

• Thrombolytic

• A drug/agent used to dissolve blood clots.

• Oste/o:

• Bone.

• Arthr/o:

• Joint.

• My/o:

• Muscle.

• Chondr/o:

• Cartilage.

• Cost/o:

• Ribs.

• Pelv/i:

• Pelvis.

• Costochondritis

• Inflammation of the ribs and their associated cartilage.

• Pelvimetry

• Act of measuring the dimensions of the pelvis.

• Myosarcoma

• Malignant tumor of muscle tissue.

Osteoclast:

• A cell that breaks down or reabsorbs bone.

• Closed Fracture

• A break in the bone where the skin remains intact.

• Comminuted Fracture

• A break where the bone is splintered or crushed into several pieces.