LO1: medical history

Medical terminology was created to identify?

various anatomical structures, diagnoses, instruments, procedures, protocols and medications

Father of medicine

Hippocrates, greek physician, he also made the hippocratic oath. trained in medicine at one of the earliest medical school (asclepeion)

claudius galen

he was a doctor during the roman empire and he made big contributions to the hippocratic medicine especially when the romans conquered greece (both cultures were merged)

medical terminology is a mixture of two languages

greek and latin (due to the Romans conquering Greece = merged cultures and language) - most body structures have two or more names

medical words are broken down into

word root

• foundation of the word, often a noun etc. gastr means stomach

prefix

• beginning part of the word, adjective indicating size, time, position

• hyper- means excessive or above etc.

suffix

• end of the word

• indicates procedure or condition

combining vowel and combining form

• often o or i, added to the word root

• gastr(o) etc.

combining form

the word root with its combining vowel

ex. gastr + o = gastr(o)

word root + combining vowel = combining form

word root + vowel + suffix starting with a vowel = what do you do with the combining vowel?

you drop the combining vowel

ex. gastr (o) + ectomy

answer: gastrectomy

word root + vowel + suffix starting with a consonant = what do you do with the combining vowel?

you keep the combining vowel

ex. gastr (o) + logy

answer: gastrology

[word root + vowel] + [word root + vowel] + suffix = what do you do with the combining vowel?

you keep the combining vowel

ex. gastr (o) + enter(o) + itis

answer: gastroenteritis

Singular to plural, for words ending with is

drop the is and add es:

testis

testes

Singular to plural, for words ending with um

drop the um and add a:

ovum

ova

Singular to plural, for words ending with us

drop the us and add i:

bronchus

bronchi

Singular to plural, for words ending with a

retain the a and add e:

vertebra

vertebrae

Singular to plural, for words ending with ix and ex

drop the ix or ex and add ices:

apex appendix

apices appendices

Singular to plural, for words ending with on

drop the on and add a:

ganglion

ganglia

Singular to plural, for words ending with ax

drop the x and add ces:

thorax

thoraces

Singular to plural, for words ending with oma

drop the oma and add omata:

myoma

myomata

Singular to plural, for words ending with y

drop the y and add ies:

biopsy

biopsies