Medical Terminology CH.1&2 - Prefixes, Roots, Combining Forms, Suffixes, and Abbreviations

Comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering medical prefixes, word roots, combining forms, contextual terms, suffixes, abbreviations, coding records, and pluralization rules.

ante-, pre-

Before

prim-

First

pro-

Before, forward

post-

After, following

ad-

Closer to / toward / to

ab-, abs-

Away from

ana-

Against, up, backward

apo-

Derived, separated from

cata-

Down

circum-

Around

di-, dif-, dir-, dis-

Not, separated, apart

dia-

Through

ecto-

Outside or outward

endo-

Within

epi-

Over, above, upon

ex-

Out of, away from

exo-

External, outside, outward

extra-

Without, on the outside

infra-

Beneath, below, under

inter-

Between

intra-

Within, in

para-

Near, adjacent, beside

per-

Through, intensely

peri-

Around, about, near

retro-

Behind, backward

sub-

Less than, under, inferior, below/beneath

supra-

Above, over, excessive

trans-

Across, through

bi-, di-

Twice, double

brachy-

Short

hemi-, semi-

Half

iso-

Equal, same

mega-, meg-, megal-

Large

micro-

Small, microscopic

mono-, uni-

Single, one

multi-, poly-

Many

pan-, panto-

All, entire

pluri-

Several, more

quadra-, quadri-

Four

tri-

Three

hyper-

Above normal, overly

hypo-

Below normal

a-

Without

an-

Without, no, lack

un-

Not

anti-

Against, opposing

contra-

Against

de-

Away from, cessation

dys-

Abnormal, difficult, painful

eu-

Well, good, normal

mal-

Bad, inadequate

re-

Again, backward

co-, col-, com-, con-, cor-

Together

syl-, sym-, syn-, sys-

Together, union, joined

tachy-

Fast

brady-

Slow

ultra-

Beyond, excessive

auto-

Self

meta-

Behind, after, beyond

ambi-

Both, around

autograft

One’s own graft

metacarpals

Bones beyond the wrist

metatarsals

Bones beyond the ankle

autoimmune

Immune to one’s self

paracervical

Around/close to the cervix or cervical spine

parakinesia

Partial movement

antemortem

Before death

postmortem

After death

antepartum

Before birth

postnatal

After birth

primipara

Giving birth for the first time

prodrome

Before disease

antipsychotic

Against psychosis

postsurgical

After surgery

unilateral

One side

parasympathetic

Beside or near the sympathetic system

adduction

Move toward body

contralateral

Against the other side

diplopia

Double vision

dysmenorrhea

Abnormal/painful menstruation (specifically means painful menstruation)

probiotic

For biotics (infectious agents)

antibiotic

Against biotics (infectious agents)

First languages of medicine

Latin and Greek

Hippocrates

“The father of medicine”

karkinos

Ancient word for cancer

Word root

The portion of a word that contains its basic meaning; usually indicates a body part or system.

Combining form

A word root plus a combining vowel, usually o, used to connect word parts.

Prefix

A word part attached to the beginning of a word or word root that modifies its meaning.

Suffix

A word part attached to the end of a word or word root that modifies its meaning.

dent

Tooth

gastr

Stomach

laryng

Larynx

rhin

Nose

cry/o

Freezing / cold

son/o

Sound

phot/o

Light

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

Movement / motion

phon/o

Sound, voice, speech

therm/o

Temperature / heat

alges/o, algesi/o, alg/o

Pain