Chapter 1: General purpose roots for building medical terminology

gen/o

creation, cause

hydr/o

water

morph/o

change

myc/o

fungus

necr/o

death

orth/o

straight

path/o

suffering, disease

phag/o

eat

plas/o

formation

scler/o

hard

sten/o

narrowing

troph/o

nourishment, development

xen/o

foreign

ac

pertaining to

al

pertaining to

ar

pertaining to

ary

pertaining to

ic

pertaining to

tic

pertaining to

ous

pertaining to

ia

condition

ism

condition

ium

tissue, structure

y

condition, procedure

icle

small

ole

small

ule

small

ula

small

iatrics

medical science

iatry

medical science

iatrist

specialist in medicine of

ist

specialist

logist

specialist in the study of...

logy

study of

algia

pain

dynia

pain

cele

hernia (a bulging of tissue into an area where it doesn't belong)

emia

blood condition

iasis

presence of

itis

inflamation

lysis

loosen, break down

malacia

abnormal softening

megaly

enlargement

oid

resembling

oma

tumor

osis

condition

pathy

disease

penia

deficiency

ptosis

drooping

rrhage

excessive flow

rrhagia

excessive flow

rrhea

flow

rrhexis

rupture

spasm

involuntary contraction

centesis

puncture

gram

written record

graph

instrument used to produce a record

graphy

written procedure

meter

instrument used to measure

metry

process of measuring

scope

instrument used to look

scopy

process of looking

desis

binding, fixation

ectomy

removal

pexy

surgical fixation

plasty

reconstruction

rraphy

suture

stomy

creation of an opening

tomy

incision

singular-a

plural-ae

singular-ax

plural-aces

singular-ex

plural-ices

singular-ix

plural-ices

signal-is

plural-es

singular-ma

plural-mata

singular-on

plural-a

singular-um

plural-a

singular-us

plural-i

singular-y

plural-ies

prefix-a

not

prefix-an

not

prefix-anti

against

prefix-contra

not

prefix-de

down, away from

ante

before

pre

before

pro

before, on behalf of

brandy

slow

tachy

fast

post

after

re

again

ab

away

ad

toward

circum

around

peri

around

dia

through

trans

through

e

out

ec

out

ex

out