Nursing Terminology and Standard Conversions Guide

Homeostasis

State of steady internal condition maintained by living things

Cell

Smallest independent unit of an organism

Tissue

Group of cells working together towards the same function

Organ

Two or more tissues that come together to form distinct structure and perform specific function(s)

Organ System

Two or more organs working closely together to perform the function of a body system

Organism

Living being that can perform all physiologic functions independently

Integumentary System· Hair
Skin
Nails

Encloses internal body structures; site of many sensory receptors

Skeletal System· Cartilage
Bones
Joints

Supports the body; enables movement (with muscular system)

Muscular System· Skeletal muscles
Tendons

Enables movement (with skeletal system); helps maintain body temperature

Nervous System
Brain
Spinal Cord
Peripheral Nerves

Detects and processes sensory information; activates bodily responses

Urinary System Kidneys
Urinary bladder

Controls water balance in the body; removes wastes from blood and excretes them

Endocrine System Pituitary gland
Thyroid Gland
Pancreas
Adrenal glands
Testes
Ovaries

Secretes hormones; regulates bodily processes

Cardiovascular System Heart
Blood Vessels

Delivers oxygen and nutrients to tissues; equalizes temperature in the body

Lymphatic System Thymus
Lymph nodes
Spleen
Lymphatic vessels

Returns fluid to blood; defends against pathogens

Respiratory System Nasal passage
Trachea
Lungs

Removes carbon dioxide from the body; delivers oxygen to blood

Digestive System Stomach
Liver
Gall bladder
Large intestine
Small intestine

Processes food for use by the body; removes wastes from undigested food

Anterior

Front side

Posterior

Back side

Superior

Above or Higher

Inferior

Below or Lower

Lateral

To the Side

Medial

Central or To the Middle

Proximal

Closer to Point of Attachment

Distal

Farther from Point of Attachment

Superficial

Closer to Surface

Deep

Farther from Surface

Sagittal Plane

Divides Body into Left & Right Halves

Frontal Plane

Divides Body into Front & Back Halves

Transverse Plane

Divides Body into Top & Bottom Halves

Prone

Horizontal position with the face orientated down

Supine

Horizontal position with the face orientated up

Fowler's

Body sitting up at a greater than 45 degrees

Semi-fowler's

Body sitting up between 30-45 degrees

Trendelenburg's

Supine position with the head 30 degrees lower than the feet

A-, An-

Without, lacking

Ab-

Away from

Ad-

Toward

Angi-

Blood Vessel

Ante-

Before, Forward

Anti-

Against

Arthr-

Joint

Auto-

Self

Bi-

Two

Bio-

Life

Brady-

Slow

Cardi-

Heart

Cephal-

Head

Chem-, Chemo-

Chemical

Contra-

Against

Crani-

Brain

Cutane-

Skin

Cyt-, Cyto-

Cell

Derm-

Skin

Dis-

Separate, Take apart

Dys-

Difficult, Abnormal

Electro-

Electrical activity

End-

Inner, Within

Exo-

Outer

Ex-, Extra-

Beyond

Gastr-

Stomach

Gluco-, Glyco-

Glucose/Sugar

Hem-, Hema-, Hemato-

Blood

Hemi-

Half

Hepat-

Liver

Hetero-

Different

Histo-

Tissue

Homo-

Same

Hydr-

Water

Hyper-

Excessive, Too Much, Above

Hypo-

Deficient, Not Enough, Under

Iso-

Equal, Like

Inter-

Between

Intra-

Within

Kin-, Kine-, Kinesi-

Movement

Macro-

Big

Mal-

Bad, Abnormal

Micro-

Small

Muscul-

Muscle

My-, Myo-

Muscle

Neo-

New

Nephr-, Ren-

Kidney

Neuro-

Nerve

Osteo-

Bone

Oxy-

Sharp, Acute, Oxygen

Peri-

Around

Pharmaco-

Drug, Medicine

Pneumo-

Air, Lung

Post-

After, Behind

Pseudo-

False

Re-

Again, Backward

Somat-

Body

Sub-

Under

Super-, Supra-

Above

Syn-

Together

Tachy-

Fast

Therm-

Temperature

Thorac-

Chest

Thromb-

Blood Clot

Leuko-

White

Eryth-, Erythro-

Red