-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