PHra 1301 unti 1

Introduction to medical terminology

A critically important subject for those looking to work in a healthcare profession and plays a vital role in your success as a student in this course.

Used to communicate precise meanings with other health-care professionals.

Pharmacy technicians must demonstrate appropriate knowledge and understanding of medical terms.

Etymology

Primarily Greek and Latin based

Created to improve communication among early anatomists and healers.

Acronym

Word formed from the initial letter of the major parts of a compound term.

LASER = Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation.

Eponym

Named for the person who discovered or described it first.

Anatomy

study of internal and external structures of the body and the relationships among body parts.

Physiology

Study of how living organisms perform their vital functions.

Acute

short duration, rapid onset, and relatively severe course.

Chronic

long duration, may be controlled, rarely cured.

Disease

a condition in which one or more body parts are not functioning normally

Syndrome

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

Symptom

subjective evidence of a disease.

Sign

objective evidence of a disease.

Diagnosis

the identification of a disease

Prognosis

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

Remission

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

Cure

a substance or procedure that ends a disease or condition.

Word Building

Joining word fragments together to form specific words and phrases.

Word Fragments

• Roots

• Prefixes

• Suffixes

Cardi/o

Heart

Brady

Slow

Bradycardia

slow heartbeat

Aden/o

gland

Adip/o

fat

Ambul/o

Walk

Cerebr/o

Brain

Dermat/o

skin

encephal/o

brain

Gastr/o

stomach

hem/o

blood

ling/o

tongue

mast/o

breast

path/o

disease

Ren/o or nephr/o

kidney

tox/o

poisonous

ur/o

urine

uter/o or hyster/o

uterus

vas/o

blood vessel

Xer/o

dry

auto

self

circum

around

dia

through

endo

into, within

epi

upon, high

exo

outside,

inter

between

intra

within, inside

iso

equal

juxta

near, beside, next to

meta

change, after

neo

new

para

near, beside or beyond

peri

around

retro

backwards, behind

tran

across

melan/o

black

cyan/o

blue

poli/o

grey

chlor/o

green

porphyr/o

purple

erythr/o

red

leuc/o, leuk/o, thod/o

White

Xanth/o

yellow

genic

producing

gram

record

graph

recording device

itis

inflammation

lysis

breaking down

mega

enlargement

oma

tumor

pathy

disease

philia

attraction

rrhea

discharge

tomy

cut, incision

Root words

the main part of a word

provides the central meaning

other words fragments modify the root word

prefixes

a word fragment beginning a word

modifies the meaning of the root

Suffixes

a word fragment ending a word

modifies the meaning of the root

Pharmacokinetics

The study of the action and movement of drugs within the body, including the mechanisms of:

• Absorption

• Distribution

• Metabolism

• Excretion

Absorption

Movement of a drug from its site of administration into the bloodstream

May be bypassed by intravenous administration

Passive transport

The most common and important mode of traversal (movement) of drugs through membranes.

Diffusion

Movement of substances from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration

Active transport

Process that moves particles in fluid through membranes from a region of lower concentration to a region of higher concentration

emesis

vomit

dactyl/o

finger

Drug class indicated for opioid overdose

opioid antagonist

Anatomic Barriers

The brain and placenta possess special anatomical barriers, which prevent many chemicals and drugs from passing through

Metabolism

The conversion of a drug within the body, also known as biotransformation

Chemical reaction (Biotransformation) make it easier to excrete

Biotransformation

Enzymatic conversion of parent compounds (drugs) to metabolic derivatives (metabolites)

The liver is a major site of metabolism/biotransformation for most drugs

• First pass effect

Exertion

The process by which the waste products of metabolism are expelled from the body

Major site of excretion for most drugs are the kidneys

Pharmacodyamics

The study of the biochemical and physiological effects of drugs

Target sites

The area where the drug’s greatest action takes place at the cellular level:

• Tissues

• Organs

• Receptors

• Cellular components

Agonist or Partial Agonist

A drug that elicits or triggers a functional change in a cell

Binds with a receptor

Partial agonist triggers a weak response

Drug half-life (t½)

The time required for the drug-plasma concentration to be reduced by one-half (50%)

The larger the half-life value, the more time it takes for the drug to be eliminated

Longer t½

longer action

Indicator of duration of action • Varies by drug and person

Five t½ Rule

Achieves complete elimination

Applies to most drugs

Psychological

A patient’s feeling(s)/belief(s)

Placebo

A sugar pill, sterile water, or other inert substance given in place of an active medication

idiosyncratic reactions

Unique, strange, unpredictable reaction to a drug

• (e.g) Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (TEN)

May be caused by an underlying enzyme deficiency

• Genetic

• Hormonal variation

Tolerance

Biological condition in which the body adapts to a substance after continued administration

Tachyphylaxis

The body rapidly adapts to the effects of these substances and successive does may not be as effective

withdrawal syndrome

Set of symptoms that occur after discontinuation or dose reduction of various substances