Medical Terminology Flashcards: Combining Forms, Suffixes, Prefixes, and Terms

Vocabulary flashcards covering medical terminology: combining forms, suffixes, prefixes, and positional/directional terms from Pages 1–4.

aden/o

gland (example: adenoma)

arthr/o

joint (example: arthritis)

bi/o

life (example: biology)

carcin/o

cancer (example: carcinoma)

cardi/o

heart (example: cardiology)

cephal/o

head (example: cephalic)

cerebr/o

cerebrum (example: cerebral)

cyt/o

cell (example: cytology)

dermat/o

skin (example: dermatology)

neur/o

nerve (example: neurology)

oste/o

bone (example: osteopathy)

path/o

disease (example: pathology)

psych/o

mind (example: psychology)

ren/o

kidney

ur/o

urinary tract / urine (example: urology)

-algia

pain (example: neuralgia)

-ectomy

removal (example: appendectomy)

-itis

inflammation (example: tonsillitis)

-logy

study of (example: biology)

-lysis

breakdown

-megaly

enlargement

-oma

tumor (example: melanoma)

-osis

condition

-pathy

disease

-plasty

surgical repair

-rrhea

flow, discharge

-sclerosis

hardening

-stomy

new opening

-tomy

incision

-trophy

development / nourishment (e.g., hypertrophy)

a-, an-

without, not (example: anemia)

ab-

away from (example: abnormal)

ad-

toward (example: adrenal)

ante-

before (example: antenatal)

anti-

against (example: antibiotic)

brady-

slow (example: bradycardia)

hyper-

excessive (example: hypertension)

hypo-

below, deficient (example: hypoglycemia)

inter-

between (example: intercostal)

intra-

within (example: intravenous)

macro-

large (example: macrocephaly)

micro-

small (example: microscope)

neo-

new (example: neoplasm)

poly-

many (example: polyuria)

pre-

before (example: prenatal)

re-

again, back (example: relapse)

retro-

backward (example: retroperitoneal)

sub-

under (example: subcutaneous)

tachy-

fast (example: tachycardia)

trans-

across (example: transfusion)

uni-

one (example: unilateral)

Anterior

front

Posterior

back

Deep

away from surface

Superficial

near surface

Proximal

near point of attachment

Distal

far from point of attachment

Inferior

below

Superior

above

Medial

toward midline

Lateral

away from midline

Supine

lying on back

Prone

lying on stomach

Cranial

brain

Thoracic

chest

Pleural

lungs

Mediastinum

heart, trachea, esophagus

Abdominal

stomach, intestines, etc.

Pelvic

bladder, reproductive organs

Spinal

spinal cord

Relapse

return of disease after apparent recovery

Syndrome

group of signs/symptoms occurring together