Medical Terminology: Cells, Tissues, Cellular Activity, and Body Chemistry

A comprehensive vocabulary review of word roots, suffixes, prefixes, examples, and anatomical and physiological terms relating to cells, tissues, cellular activity, and body chemistry.

morph/o

Form

polymorphous

Having many forms

cyt/o, -cyte

Cell

cytologist

One who studies cells

nucle/o

Nucleus

nuclear

Pertaining to a nucleus

kary/o

Nucleus

karyotype

Picture of a cell's chromosomes organized according to size

hist/o, histi/o

Tissue

histocompatibility

Tissue similarity that permits transplantation

fibr/o

Fiber

fibrosis

Abnormal formation of fibrous tissue

reticul/o

Network

reticulum

A network

aden/o

Gland

adenoma

Tumor (-oma) of a gland

papill/o

Nipple

papilla

Projection that resembles a nipple

myx/o

Mucus

myxadenitis

Inflammation (-itis) of a mucus-secreting gland

muc/o

Mucus, mucous membrane

mucorrhea

Increased flow (-rhea) of mucus

somat/o, -some

Body, small body

chromosome

Small body that takes up color (dye) (chrom/o)

blast/o, -blast

Immature cell, productive cell, embryonic cell

histioblast

A tissue-forming cell

gen

Origin, formation

karyogenesis

Formation of a nucleus

phag/o

Eat, ingest

autophagy

Self (auto)-destruction of a cell's organelles

phil

Attract, absorb

basophilic

Attracting basic stain

plas

Formation, molding, development

hyperplasia

Overdevelopment of an organ or tissue

trop

Act on, affect

chronotropic

Affecting rate or timing (chr

troph/o

Feeding, growth, nourishment

atrophy

Tissue wasting

-ase

Enzyme

lipase

Enzyme that digests fat (lipid)

-ose

Sugar

lactose

Milk sugar

hydr/o

Water, fluid

hydration

Addition of water, relative amount of water present

gluc/o

Glucose

glucogenesis

Production of glucose

glyc/o

Sugar, glucose

normoglycemia

Normal blood sugar level

sacchar/o

Sugar

polysaccharide

Compound containing many simple sugars

amyl/o

Starch

amyloid

Resembling starch

lip/o

Lipid, fat

lipophilic

Attracting or absorbing lipids

adip/o

Fat

adiposuria

Presence of fat in the urine (ur/o)

steat/o

Fatty

steatorrhea

Discharge (-rhea) of fatty stools

prote/o

Protein

protease

Enzyme that digests protein

amino acids

The nitrogen-containing compounds that make up proteins

anabolism

The type of metabolism in which body substances are made; the building phase of metabolism

catabolism

The type of metabolism in which substances are broken down for energy and simple compounds

collagen

A fibrous protein found in connective tissue

cortex

The outer region of an organ

glycogen

A complex sugar compound stored in liver and muscles and broken down into glucose when needed for energy

interstitial

Between parts, such as the spaces between cells in a tissue

medulla

The inner region of an organ, marrow (root: medull/o)

parenchyma

The functional tissue of an organ

parietal

Pertaining to a wall, describes a membrane that lines a body cavity

soma

The body

stem cell

An immature cell that has the capacity to develop into any of a variety of different cell types, a precursor cell

visceral

Pertaining to the internal organs; describes a membrane on the surface of an organ