Nursing Exam 1 Medical Terminology

word root

usually the middle of the word and its central meaning

prefix

comes at the beginning and usually identifies some subdivision or part of central meaning

suffix

comes at the end and modifies the central meaning as to what or who is interacting with it or what is happening to it

myocarditis

myo = muscle

card = heart

itis = inflammation

MYOcarditis

muscle layer of heart inflames

PERIcarditis

outer layer of heart inflamed

ENDOcarditis

inner layer of heart inflamed

cardiOLOGIST

a physician specializing in the heart

cardioMYOPATHY

damage to heart muscle layer

cardioMEGALY

enlargement of the heart

\-itis

inflammation

ex. tonsillitis, appendicitis

\-osis

abnormal condition

ex. cyanosis (of blueness, due to cold or low oxygen)

\-ectomy

to cut out (remove)

ex. appendectomy, tonsillectomy

\-otomy

to cut into

ex. tracheotomy (to cut into the windpipe, temporary opening)

\-ostomy

to make a “mouth”

ex. colostomy (to make a permanent opening in colon)

a/an

without, none

ex. anemia (literally no blood but means few red cells)

micro

small

ex. microstomia (abnormally small mouth)

macro

large

ex. macrostomia (abnormally large mouth)

mega/ -megaly

enlarged

ex. megacolon (abnormally large colon = large intestine)

\-scopy/ -scopic

to look, observe

ex. colonoscopy (look into colon)

\-graphy/ -graph

recording an image

ex. mammography (imaging the breasts)

\-gram

the image (X-ray)

ex. mammogram (X-ray of the breasts)

mammography vs. mammogram

mammography is the process of recording (the machine and procedure), while a mammogram is the image itself (the X-ray)

electrocardiogram

a recording of heart activity, using an electrocardiograph

electroencephalogram

a recording of the brain, using a electroencephalography

\-ology/ -ologist

study, specialize in

ex. cardiologist, nephrologist (study the heart, the kidneys)

pulmonologist

lung specialist

neurologist

nerve and brain disease specialist

ophthalmologist

eye specialist

stomato

mouth

dento

teeth

glosso/ linguo

tongue

gingivo

gums

encephalo

brain

gastro

stomach

entero

intestine

colo

large intestine

procto

anus/ rectum

hepato

liver

nephro/ rene

kidney

orchido

testis

oophoro

ovary

hystero/ metro

uterus

salpingo

uterine tubes

dermo

skin

masto/ mammo

breast

osteo

bones

cardio

heart

cysto

bladder

rhino

nose

phlebo/ veno

veins

pneumo/ pulmo

lung

hemo/ emia

blood

What must be present to define inflammation?

pain, redness, heat, and swelling

If I haven’t been brushing my teeth often enough, I may end up with bleeding from my gums, a condition called

gingivitis

A patient has had a diagnosis of colon cancer and will need surgical removal of the colon. She will end up with a permanent hole in her abdomen for drainage into a bag. The permanent opening is called a

colostomy

You have been having chronic pains in your upper abdomen, and your family physician refers you to a specialist in diseases of the digestive tract called a

gastroenterologist

You have been diagnosed as having an enlarged liver. The doctor describes it as

hepatomegaly

You have taken your friend to the emergency room with severe lower back pain and blood in his urine. After examination and lab tests, the physician reports that your friend has an inflammation of his kidneys and makes a diagnosis of

nephritis

Your friend who is a long distance runner is told by his physician that he has an enlarged heart, but that this can be a normal finding in well conditioned athletes. The doctor writes on his chart that your friend has

cardiomegaly

Your mother is having her uterus surgically removed along with her ovaries. Removal of ovaries is called

oophorectomy

a patient has become sterile due to chronic inflammation of her uterine tubes from frequent infection with sexually transmitted diseases. This tubal inflammation is called

salgingitis

a patient with epilepsy has had a procedure performed that records brain electrical activity. This procedure is called

electroencephalography

A female patient has a special X-ray procedure of the breasts performed. The X-ray image is called a

mammogram

leuk/o

white

ex. lukemia (abundance of white blood cells)

melan/o

black

ex. melanoma (black tumor of the skin)

cyan/o

blue

ex. cyanosis (blueness may be due to cold or not enough oxygen in blood)

xanth/o

yellow

ex. xanthoma (yellow tumor)

aden/o

gland

ex. adenoma

lip/o

fat

ex. lipoma

my/o

muscle

ex. myoma

lymph/o

lymph tissue

ex. lymphoma

carcin/o

malignant

ex. carcinoma

osteo/o

bone

ex. osteoma

oma

a swelling

malignant

cancerous

benign

not life-threatening

endo

within, inside of

ex. endoscopy (to inspect the inside of an organ or space with a lighted instrument)

peri

around

ex. perianal (around the anus)

circum

around

ex. circumcise (cut around)

retro

behind

ex. retrosternal (behind the breastbone)

epi

upon, on top

ex. epidermis (the top outermost layer of skin)

trans

through

ex. transurethral (through the urinary exit duct)

intra

within

ex. intravenous (inside the veins, IV fluids)

sub

below

ex. subclavian (below the clavicle, or collar bone)

cardi/o

heart

brady/tachy

slow/fast

ex. bradycardia (rate

angi/o

vessel

ex. angiogram (X-ray of artery)

veno/phlebo

\`vein

ex. venogram (X-ray of veins), phlebitis (inflammation of veins)

stasis

to stop

ex. hemostasis (to stop bleeding), hemostat (a clamp-like instrument)

cyte

cell

ex. erythrocytes, leukocytes (red, white blood cells)

hem/o, -emia

blood

ex. hypoxemia (low oxygen), hematosalpinx (blood in the uterine tubes)

atherosclerosis

* “hardening of the fatty stuff.”


* high fat diets can lead to formation of fatty plaques lining blood vessels
* these fatty areas can become calcified and heard leading to ________
* hardening of the arteries
* when blood vessels become less stretchable, blood pressure rises and can result in heart and kidney damage and strokes

Myocardial Infarction (MI)

* myocardial = heart muscle
* infarction = blockage of blood flow resulting in death of muscle tissue
* heart attack
* blockage occurs in one of the arteries of the heart muscle, coronary artery
* depending on how much tissue dies, a victim of MI may survive and undergo cardiac rehabilitation, strengthening the remaining heart muscle
* victim may die if too much muscle is destroyed

Mitral Prolapse, Stenosis, Regurgitation

* blood flows through 4 chambers in the heart separated by one-way valves
* a major valve is the one separating the upper and lower chambers on the left side of the heart
* the left side is v important because freshly oxygenated blood returning from the lungs is circulated out of the heart to the rest of the body
* the left valve, or atrioventricular, for the chambers it separates, is also called the mitral valve, because it is shaped like an upside down bishop’s hat, a miter
* if the flaps of this valve tear away due to disease, this process is called **prolapse**, “a falling forward”
* this results in leakage and backward flow called **regurgitation**
* sometimes a valve is abnormally narrow causing partial obstruction constricting flow. **stenosis** means “a narrowing”

Angina Pectoris

* “pain in the chest”
* pain associated with the heart and is distinctive as “crushing, vise-like”
* often accompanied by shortness of breath, fatigue, and nausea
* anginal pain indicates not enough blood is getting to the heart muscle, and the heart is protesting and begging for more
* people with a history of anginal often take nitroglycerine tablets to relieve th pain by increasing blood flow to the heart muscle

Arrhythmia/dysrhythmia

* abnormal heart rates and rhythms all have special names like ventricular tachycardia, fibrillation, but generically are termed arrhythmias or dysrhythmia, meaning “no rhythm” and “abnormal rhythm”
* there are fine distinctions between the two but they are often used interchangeably

Ischemia

* the heart muscle is not getting enough blood flow, more importantly, the oxygen the blood carries is insufficient to sustain muscle which has a very high metabolic rate, and oxygen demand
* the term loosely means “not quite enough blood”
* typically, the patient suffers angina pain and may think they are having a heart attack (they may actually be)

cardiologist

* a physician specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases in the circulatory system, especially the **heart**
* after diagnosis, he or she may refer to a cardiovascular surgeon
* does not do surgery

hematologist

a physician specializing in diseases of the blood