Lec 1 (half)

(basic definitions and rules no medical terminology)

Medical Terminology Definition

it is a language for medical health professionals. This language has grammar, spelling and pronunciation rules like any other language.

Medical (in medical terminology) is pertaining to

medicine

terminology (in medical terminology) is pertaining to

the study of terms

term

a word or phrase used to describe a thing or to express a concept, especially in a particular kind of language or branch of study

Medical terminology is both

constructed and non-constructed

constructed medical terms are

made up of different parts,

such as gastric → gastr is stomach, while ic is pertaining to

non-constructed medical terms are

its simple. Made of one part.

such as sprain and penicillin.

sprain is

non-constructed medical term

A medical term is made up of

prefixes, word woot, suffixes and combining vowels

word root

the main part of a medical term that provides its primary meaning.

-most medical terms have it, a few don’t

Prefix

the part at the beginning of the medical term, thats attached to the word root to add meaning such as location, number, position

-not all medical terms have prefixes

suffix

the part at the end of a medical term thats attatched to the word root to add meaning such as condition, position, and change

suffix

the part that add meaning such as position, condition, or change

prefix

the part that add meaning such as location, number, or position

combining vowels

are letters attached to the word root to create a combining form

• they don’t add meaning at all

• they make pronunciation easier

• usually, (o) can also be (e) or (i)

what side of the medical term do we start defining to name it?

the suffix or if there isn’t a suffix then from the left side