Medical Terminology - Chapter 01: Learning Terminology, Word Roots, and Combining Forms

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering medical terminology origins, word root building parts, combining forms, pronunciation rules, pluralization rules, and medical abbreviations.

Hippocrates

Known as the "Father of Medicine" (460-337 BC); under his work, medical terminology began to gain uniformity.

-tomy

A suffix meaning "cutting," used in procedures such as phlebotomy (incision of a vein).

Eponym

A medical term formed from a person's name, such as Parkinson's disease (or Parkinson disease).

Diacritical Marks

Marks placed over vowels in medical terms to demonstrate whether they should be pronounced long or short.

Pronunciation Guide (Table 1-1)

A guide illustrating long vowels (ā, ē, ī, ō, ū) and short vowels (ă, ě, ĭ, ŏ, ŭ) along with pronunciation examples.

Medical Word Structure

Medical terms are generally constructed from combinations of prefixes, word roots, and suffixes.

Word Root

The portion of a medical term that contains its basic meaning (e.g., hepat = liver, dent = tooth, gastr = stomach, rhin = nose, cardi = heart).

Combining Form

The word root plus a combining vowel that links two word parts together when two consonants come together (e.g., hepat/o).

Combining Vowel

A vowel used to tie the root with a prefix or suffix; the letter "o" is used 70% of the time.

Prefix

A word part attached to the beginning of a word or word root that modifies its meaning (e.g., retro- in retroperitoneum, dis- in disinfection).

Suffix

A word part attached to the end of a word or word root that modifies its meaning (e.g., -phobia in acrophobia, -plegia in hemiplegia).

Tonsillectomy

Complete removal of throat tissue (tonsils); illustrates that if a word root ends in 'l', the letter is doubled before adding -ectomy.

aer/o

Combining form meaning air, gas.

ather/o

Combining form meaning plaque, fatty substance (inside a vessel).

blast/o

Combining form meaning immature cells.

calc/o, calci/o

Combining forms meaning calcium.

chondrio, chondro

Combining forms meaning cartilage, grainy, gritty.

chyl/o

Combining form meaning chyle, a digestive juice.

chym/o

Combining form meaning chyme, fluid in the stomach.

cyst/o, cysti

Combining forms meaning bladder, cyst, cystic duct.

cyt/o

Combining form meaning cell.

gluc/o, glyc/o

Combining forms meaning glucose or sugars.

hydr/o

Combining form meaning hydrogen, water.

lip/o

Combining form meaning fat (outside of a blood vessel).

nucle/o

Combining form meaning nucleus.

plasma, plasmo

Combining forms meaning formative, plasma.

salping/o

Combining form meaning tube.

sider/o

Combining form meaning iron.

somat/o

Combining form meaning body.

squam/o

Combining form meaning scale, squamous (meaning scaly).

syring/o

Combining form meaning tube.

algesi/o, algi/o, alg/o

Combining forms meaning pain.

cry/o

Combining form meaning cold.

dips/o

Combining form meaning thirst.

esthesi/o

Combining form meaning sensation, perception.

kin/o, kine, kinesi/o, kines/o

Combining forms meaning movement, motion.

phon/o

Combining form meaning sound, voice, speech.

phot/o

Combining form meaning light.

son/o

Combining form meaning sound.

therm/o

Combining form meaning heat.

acanth/o

Combining form meaning spiny, thorny.

andr/o

Combining form meaning masculine.

chlor/o

Combining form meaning chlorine, green.

chrom/o, chromat/o

Combining forms meaning colour.

crypt/o

Combining form meaning hidden, obscure.

cyan/o

Combining form meaning blue.

eosin/o, erythr/o

Combining forms meaning red, redness.

granul/o

Combining form meaning granular.

gyn/o, gyne, gynec/o

Combining forms meaning women.

home/o, hom/o

Combining forms meaning same, constant.

ichthy/o

Combining form meaning dry, scaly, fishy.

idi/o

Combining form meaning distinct, unknown.

immun/o

Combining form meaning safe, immune.

leuk/o

Combining form meaning white.

macr/o

Combining form meaning large, long.

meg/a, megal/o

Combining forms meaning large, million.

melan/o

Combining form meaning black, dark.

micr/o

Combining form meaning small, tiny.

mio

Combining form meaning smaller, less.

morph/o

Combining form meaning structure, shape.

norm/o

Combining form meaning normal.

physi/o

Combining form meaning physical, natural.

pseud/o

Combining form meaning false.

scler/o

Combining form meaning hardness, hardening.

scoli/o

Combining form meaning crooked, bent.

spher/o

Combining form meaning round, spherical.

staphyl/o

Combining form meaning grapelike clusters.

strept/o

Combining form meaning twisted chains.

terat/o

Combining form meaning monster.

xanth/o

Combining form meaning yellow.

bacill/o, bacteri/o

Combining forms meaning bacilli or bacteria.

carcin/o

Combining form meaning cancer.

kyph/o

Combining form meaning humpback.

onch/o, onco

Combining forms meaning tumor.

path/o

Combining form meaning disease.

pyr/o

Combining form meaning fire, fever, heat.

scist/o, szhiz/o

Combining forms meaning split, division.

spasm/o

Combining form meaning spasm, contraction.

anteri/o

Combining form meaning front.

dextr/o

Combining form meaning right, toward the right.

dors/o

Combining form meaning back.

goni/o

Combining form meaning angle.

later/o

Combining form meaning lateral, to one side.

medi/o, mes/o

Combining forms meaning middle, medial plane, or median.

orth/o

Combining form meaning straight, normal.

top/o

Combining form meaning place, topical.

crin/o

Combining form meaning secrete.

gen/o

Combining form meaning producing, being born.

hypn/o, somn/o, somni

Combining forms meaning sleep.

log/o

Combining form meaning speech, words, thought.

narc/o

Combining form meaning sleep, numbness.

phag/o

Combining form meaning eating, devouring, swallowing.

spir/o

Combining form meaning breath, breathe.

actin/o

Combining form meaning light.

amyl/o

Combining form meaning starch.

bar/o

Combining form meaning weight, pressure.

bas/o, basi/o

Combining forms meaning base.

bio

Combining form meaning life.

chem/o

Combining form meaning chemical.

chrono

Combining form meaning time.