Medical Terminology- Suffixes

al

ectomy

removal of

emia

blood condition

gram

record/picture/letter/drawing

ia

condition/diseased state

iatry

healing/medical treatment/specialty

ic

relating to

itis

inflammation

logist

who studies, one who studies

logy

study/science of

pathy

disease

philia

surg

plasty

surgical repair

scope

to observe

tic

pertaining to

Suffixes that mean ‘pertaining to’

• ac

• al

• ar

• ary

• ic

• ous

Suffixes that indicate a medical specialty:

• iatry

• logist

• logy

• practic

practic

practice

Difficult Suffixes that indicate location, number, quality:

• ad

• a

• ae

• emia

• hemia

Suffixes that indicate action or state:

• drome

• malacia

• opsy

• oxia

• philia

• phagia

• phasia

• oma

• stasis

• algia

• asthenia

• atresia

• cele

• dynia

drome

running

emesis

vomitting

malacia

abnormal softening of tissue or organ

opsy

view of, examination

oxia

oxygen

philia

love for

phagia

swallowing

phasia

speech

physis

growth

plegia

paralysis

oma

tumor

stasis

standing still

ia

condition of

osis

condition of

ism

condition

penia

deficiency

rragia

abnormal discharge

rrhea

discharge

rrhexis

rupture

sclerosis

hardening

spasm

spasm

ad

toward

a

singular

ae

more than one, plural

emia

condition of blood

hemia

gram

recording

graph

instrument for recording