Medical Coding Prefixes

Prefixes for medical coding 2024

patell o/a, // ar

Knee // pertaining to the knee

gloss/o //ary

Tongue //pertaining to

lingu/o

Tongue

Sequela

To follow/condition that results from injury or disease.

Sign

Objective finding of a disease state, something measured like a fever or blood pressure, observed like a rash

Symptom

Subjective report, i.e. patient experiences pain/itching, can’t be physically observed

Syndrome

Signs and symptoms that often appear together.

Etiology

The cause of a disease.

Manifestation

Outward demonstration or perception. Signs and symptoms are manifestations of disease.

CARD method is:

Check for the word parts

Assign meanings to word parts

Reverse the meaning of the suffix to the front of your definition

Define the term

Arthr/o

joint

-algia

Pain

gastr/o

stomach

-tomy

cutting

opthalm/o

eye

-scope

instrument to view

-logy

study of

-plasty

surgically forming

-itis

inflammation

ot/o

ear

rhin/o

nose

hepat/o

liver

arthralgia

joint pin

gastrotomy

incision of the stomach

hepatitis

liver inflammation

otology

study of the ear

esophagogastroduodenoscopy

a procedure to examine the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum

-icle

a diminutive suffix used in anatomy and biology to indicate something smaller than the named structure.

-is

structure

-ole

small/tiny

-ule

small/tiny

-um

structure/thing/membrane

-y

condition/process of (like polydactyly)

-ac

pertaining to

-al

pertaining to

-ar

pertaining to

-ary

pertaining to

-eal

pertaining to

-ic

pertaining to

-ous

pertaining to

-cele

herniation

-algia

pain

-dynia

pain

-emia

blood condition

-ia

condition

-malacia

softening

-megaly

enlargement

-oma

tumor/mass

-osis

abnormal condition

-pathy

disease process

-ptosis

prolapse/drooping

-rrhage, rrhagia

bursting forth

-rrhea

discharge/flow

-rrhexis

rupture

-sclerosis

abnormal condition of hardening

-stenosis

abnormal condition of narrowing

ceph-

head

valvu-

valve

-centesis

surgical puncture/drainage

-desis

binding/fusion

-ectomy

cutting out/can be destruction, resection, excision or an extirpation

excision

remove damaged/diseased tissue

extirpation

complete removal or destruction of organ or tissue

-pexy

fixation/suspension, repair or repositino

-plasty

surgically forming; alteration, dilation, repair, supplement, replacement

-rrhaphy

suturing/repair

-scopy

viewing/inspection

-tomy

cutting/drainage/division

-tripsy

crushing/destruction, fragmentation, occlusion

-centesis

surgical puncture

-desis

binding

-ectomy

cutting out

-graphy

recording

-metry

measuring

-opsy

viewing

-pexy

suspension/fixation

-stomy

making a new opening

-tomy

cutting

-tripter

machine to crush

-trite

machine to crush

a-

no/not/without

an-

no, not, without

ante-

forward, in front of, before

anti-

against

dys-

abnormal, difficult, bad, painful

endo-, end-

within

eip-

above, upon

hyper-

excessive, above

hypo

deficient, below

inter-

in between

intra

within

neo-

new

par-

near, beside

para-

near, beside, abnormal