Medical Word Parts and Basic Terms Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering medical terminology word parts, diagnostic terms, clinical conditions, and common procedural suffixes based on the lecture notes.

Word Root

Contains the basic meaning of the term and usually indicates the involved body part.

Combining Form

A word root with a combining vowel (usually "o") added at the end; it is used when word roots are combined or a suffix beginning with a consonant is added.

Suffix

A word part that always comes at the end of the word and usually indicates a procedure, condition, disorder, or disease.

Prefix

A word part that always comes at the beginning of a word and usually indicates location, time, number, or status.

-algia

Pain and suffering.

-dynia

Pain.

-ectomy

Surgical removal, cutting out.

-gram

A picture or record.

-itis

Inflammation.

-osis

Abnormal condition or disease.

-ostomy

The surgical creation of an artificial opening to the body surface.

-plasty

Surgical repair.

-rrhage or -rragia

Bleeding or abnormal excessive fluid discharge.

-rrhaphy

Surgical suturing to close a wound.

-rhea

Flow or discharge of most body fluids.

-sclerosis

Abnormal hardening.

Cyanosis

Blue discoloration of the skin caused by lack of adequate oxygen in the blood.

Erythrocyte

A mature red blood cell.

Leukocyte

A white blood cell.

Melanoma

A type of skin cancer (melan means black, and -oma means tumor).

Poliomyelitis

A viral infection of the spinal cord (polio means gray, myel means spinal cord, and -itis means inflammation).

Gastroenteritis

An inflammation of the stomach and small intestine.

-megaly

Abnormal enlargement (e.g., hepatomegaly).

-malacia

Abnormal softening (opposite of -sclerosis).

-necrosis

Tissue death.

-stenosis

Abnormal narrowing.

Centesis

A surgical puncture to remove fluid for diagnostic purposes or to remove excess fluid.

-graphy

The process of producing a picture or record.

-scopy

Visual examination (e.g., arthroscopy).

Sign

Objective evidence of disease, such as a fever, that can be evaluated or measured by the patient or others.

Symptom

Subjective evidence of a disease, such as pain or a headache, that can be evaluated or measured only by the patient.

Syndrome

A set of signs and symptoms that occur together as part of a specific disease process.

Diagnosis

The identification of a disease.

Differential Diagnosis

An attempt to determine which one of several possible diseases is causing the signs and symptoms; also known as a "rule out" (R/O).

Prognosis

A prediction of the probable course and outcome of a disease.

Acute

A condition with a rapid onset, a severe course, and a relatively short duration.

Chronic

A condition of long duration; while these can be controlled, they are rarely cured.

Remission

The temporary, partial, or complete disappearance of the symptoms of a disease without having achieved a cure.

Eponym

A disease, structure, operation, or procedure named after the person who discovered or described it first (e.g., Alzheimer's disease).

Acronym

A word formed from the initial letters of the major parts of a compound term (e.g., laser).

Atheroma

A fatty deposit within the wall of an artery.

Pyoderma

Any acute, inflammatory, pus-forming bacterial skin infection.

Pyrosis

Discomfort due to the regurgitation of stomach acid upward into the esophagus; also known as heartburn.

Fissure

A groove or crack-like sore of the skin, or a normal fold in the contours of the brain.

Fistula

An abnormal passage, usually between two internal organs or leading from an organ to the surface of the body.

Ileum

The last and longest portion of the small intestine.

Ilium

Part of the hip bone.

Exudate

Any fluid, such as pus, that leaks out of an infected wound.

Laceration

A torn or jagged wound or an accidental cut.

Lesion

A pathologic change of the tissues due to disease or injury.

Myelopathy

Any pathologic change or disease in the spinal cord.

Myopathy

Any pathologic change or disease of muscle tissue.

Mycosis

Any abnormal condition or disease caused by a fungus.

Palpation

An examination technique in which the examiner's hands are used to feel the texture, size, consistency, and location of certain body parts.

Palpitation

A pounding or racing heart.

Triage

The medical screening of patients to determine their relative priority of need and the proper place of treatment.

Trauma

Wound or injury occurring in an accident, shooting, natural disaster, or fire.

Supination

The act of rotating the arm so that the palm of the hand is forward or upward.

Suppuration

The formation of pus.