Terms for the WHOLE YEAR (unfinished)

-itis

inflammation

-osis

abnormal condition

-ectomy

to cut out (remove)

-otomy

to cut into

-ostomy

to make an opening ("mouth")

a/an-

without, none

micro

small

macro

large

mega/-megaly

enlarged

-scopy/-scopic

to look, observe

-graphy/-graph

recording an image

-gram

the image being recorded (x-ray)

-ology/-ologist

the study of, to specialize in

stomato

mouth

dento

teeth

glosso/linguo

tongue

gingivo

gums

encephalo

brain (inside the head)

cephalo

head

gastro

stomach

entero

intestine

colo

large intestine

procto

anus/rectum

hepato

liver

nephro/rene

kidney

orchido

testis

oophoro

ovary

hystero/metro

uterus

salpingo

uterine tubes

leuk/o

white

melan/o

black

cyan/o

blue

xanth/o

yellow

aden/o

gland

lip/o

fat

my/o

muscle

lymph/o

lymph tissue

carcin/o

malignant

osteo/o

bone

endo

within, inside of

peri, circum

around

retro

behind

epi

upon, on top

trans

through

intra

within

sub

below

dermo

skin

masto/mammo

breast

nas/o, rhino

nose

cardio

heart

cysto

bladder

phlebo/veno

veins

pneumo/pulmo

lung

hemo/emia

blood

ocul/o

eye

myel/o

spinal cord

laryng/o

larynx, "voice box"

neuro/o

nerve

or/o

mouth

vertebr/o

vertebra or spinal

lapar/o

abdomen, abdominal wall

ren/o

kidney

cyt/o

cell

brady

slow

tachy

fast

angi/o

vessel

vas/c

veins and arteries

arteri/o

artery

-stasis

to stop

cardi/o

heart

atherosclerosis

"hardening of the fatty stuff"; blood vessels are lined by fatty plaques caused by high fat diets. these areas become calcified and hard, leading to arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). when the blood vessels become less stretchable, blood pressure rises and can result in heart/kidney damage and strokes.

myocardial infarction (MI)

blockage of blood flow in one of the arteries of the heart muscle resulting in death of the muscle tissue, AKA a heart attack.

mitral prolapse

the flaps of the mitral valve (valve in the heart that stops blood flow in the wrong direction) tear away due to disease prolapse, or "fall forward".

sign

something a physician observes and/or can measure.

symptom

something a patient observes and complains about to a physician

regurgitation

a result of mitral prolapse; leakage and backward flow

stenosis

"a narrowing"- a valve being abnormally narrow causing partial obstruction, which constricts flow.

mening/o

membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord

myel/o

spinal cord

dys

difficult, painful, abnormal

-cele

hernia; abnormal protrusion of structure out of normal anatomical position

-pathy

disease, abnormality

-plasia

development, formation, growth

-plegia

paralysis

multiple sclerosis

"many hardenings"; a disease of unknown cause with many hard plaques of degeneration located in the insulating layer of nerve fibers. this loss of insulation causes a "short circuiting" of nerve impulses.

cerebrovascular accident (CVA)

fancy name for a stroke; caused by a blood vessel in the brain bursting leading to internal bleeding (loss of oxygen) or a clot arisen in the brain or elsewhere to travel to a brain vessel, depriving the brain of oxygen.

transient ischemic attack (TIA)

"ischemia" - "not quite enough blood"; a short period of insufficient blood supply to the brain. can have mimic signs/symptoms of a stroke, but lasts less than a day and increases risks of strokes.

epilepsy

means "seizure" in Greek, AKA convulsions; a specific condition with intense, longer-lasting, and recurring seizures.

aphasia

loss of speech

neurologist

a physician specializing in diseases of the brain, spinal cord and nerves. does NOT perform surgery

Lumbar puncture/tap (LP)

a physician does this by introducing a needle between the lower bony vertebrae of our spinal column to sample the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) surrounding the brain and spinal cord. this fluid can be used for diagnostic purposes.

brain scan

imagine possible tumors in the brain by introducing a radioactive element into the blood.

electroencephalography (EEG)

an image of the brain's electrical activity, used to diagnose sleep disorders

computed tomography (CT)

a specialized x-ray machine that takes multiple images of a body area from different angles. integrates multiple images into "slices of the body".

magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

placing a patient's body into a strong magnetic field with radio pulses to see the resonance or "spin" of atoms in the tissues.

trache/o

trachea, "windpipe"

bronc/o

lung air passageways

pne/u, -pnea

breath, air, lung

pulmo/o

lung