Medical Terminology: Prefixes, Suffixes, Symbols, Abbreviations, and Do Not Use Lists

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering medical prefixes, root words, suffixes, standard symbols, common clinical abbreviations, The Joint Commission's official 'Do Not Use' list, and ISMP error-prone abbreviations.

answer is :1

1

a-

Without

an-

Without, lack of, not (used before root words beginning with a vowel).

ante-

Before, in front of.

brady-

Slow.

tachy-

Fast, rapid.

dys-

Bad, painful, difficult, abnormal.

eu-

Good, normal, well.

endo-

Within, inner, inside.

eso-

Inward, inside.

ecto-

Outside.

exo-

Outside, outward.

hyper-

Above, excessive, abnormally high.

hypo-

abnormally low.

inter-

Between.

intra-

Within, inside.

nulli-

None.

oligo-

Few, scanty.

pan-

All, entire.

primi-

First.

pseudo-

False.

retro-

Backward, behind.

trans-

Across, through.

alveol/o

Alveolous, air sac.

angi/o

Vessel.

arthr/o

Joint.

brachi/o

Arm.

carcin/o

Cancer.

cervic/o

Neck, cervix.

chondr/o

Cartilage.

cost/o

Rib.

cyan/o

Blue.

cyst/o

Bladder.

encephal/o

Brain.

enter/o

Intestines.

erythr/o

Red.

eti/o

Cause.

hyster/o

Uterus.

kal/i

Potassium.

leuk/o (or leuc/o)

White.

nephr/o (or ren/o)

Kidney.

oste/o (or oss/o)

Bone.

py/o

Pus.

sarc/o

Flesh, connective tissue.

troph/o

Development, nourishment.

xanth/o

Yellow.

xer/o

Dryness.

-cele

Hernia, swelling, protrusion.

-centesis

Surgical puncture to remove fluid.

-desis

Surgical fixation, binding.

-ectasis

Dilation, expansion.

-ectomy

Surgical removal, excision.

-emia

Blood condition

-genesis

Production, creation, origin.

-malacia

Abnormal softening.

-megaly

Enlargement.

-ostomy (or -stomy)

Surgically creating an opening/mouth (or creating a new opening).

-otomy (or -tomy)

Surgical incision, cutting into.

-oxia

Oxygen (sometimes acts as a root, like in anoxia).

-penia

Deficiency.

-pexy

Surgical fixation, anchoring.

-phagia (or -phage)

Eating or swallowing.

-plasia

Growth, development, formation.

-plasty

Surgical repair or reconstruction.

-ptosis

Drooping, sagging

-rrhage (or -rrhagia)

Excessive flow

-rrhaphy

Surgical suturing or repair.

-rrhea

Discharge, flow.

-rrhexis

Rupture.

-sclerosis

Abnormal hardening.

-stenosis

Abnormal narrowing, stricture.

-tripsy

Crushing.

Δ

Change.

↑

Higher, elevated, up.

↓

Lower or down.

ad lib

As desired.

c̄

With.

s̄

Without.

p̄

After.

c/o

Complains of.

FUO

Fever of unknown origin.

gtt or gtts

Drop(s).

NPO

Nothing by mouth (from Latin nil per os).

PRN or prn

As needed.

R/O or r/o

Rule out.

sig

Write or label, patient directions on an Rx.

SOAP

Subjective, objective, assessment, plan.

The Joint Commission (TJC)

1

U or u (Do Not Use List)

Prohibited abbreviation for unit; easily misread as 0 (e.g., 4U misread as 40, risking tenfold dosing errors). Healthcare workers must write "unit" instead.

IU (Do Not Use List)

Prohibited abbreviation for international unit; healthcare workers must write "international unit" instead.

Q.D., QD, q.d., or qd (Do Not Use List)

Prohibited abbreviation meaning daily or once daily; healthcare workers must write "daily" instead.

Q.O.D., QOD, q.o.d., or qod (Do Not Use List)

Prohibited abbreviation meaning every other day; healthcare workers must write "every other day" instead.

Trailing Zeroes After Decimals (X.0), know you leave just as 4 not 4.0. answer is 1

1

Lack of Leading Zeroes Before Decimals (.X)

A prohibited dosing notation because the decimal point can be missed without a zero in front of it, causing a tenfold dosing error (e.g., write $0.4\,\text{mg}$, not $.4\,\text{mg}$).

MS, MSO4, and MgSO4 (Do Not Use List)

Prohibited abbreviations that can be confused for morphine sulfate or magnesium sulfate; healthcare workers must write "morphine sulfate" or "magnesium sulfate" instead.

µg (Error-Prone Abbreviation)

mcg

SC, SQ, sub Q (Error-Prone Abbreviation)

subcutaneous

D/C (Error-Prone Abbreviation)

Error-prone abbreviation having two distinct meanings (discharge or discontinue) per ISMP; write "discharge" or "discontinue" instead.

cc (Error-Prone Abbreviation)

Error-prone abbreviation for cubic centimeter (equivalent to $1\,\text{mL}$) per ISMP; write "mL" or "milliliter" instead.