medical term

medical terminology

language to describe the human body.

word root

- foundation of a medical term
- component to which prefixes and suffixes are attached

medical terminology word roots will tell you:

the body system referred to, the body part referred to, or the action to be performed.

combining form

root words + combined vowel

albin/o

white

bi/o

life

cry/o

cold

cutane/o

skin

cyan/o

blue

derm/o, demat/o

skin

diaphor/o

profuse sweating

electr/o

electricity

ichthy/o

scaly

kerat/o

hard

lip/o

fat

melan/o

black

myc/o

fungus

necr/o

death

pil/o

hair

py/o

pus

rhytid/o

wrinkle

seb/o

oil

ungu/o

nail

xer/o

dry

suffixes indicate:

symptomatic, diagnostic, procedural

-algia

pain

-cele

hernia, protrusion

-cise

cut

-cyte

cell

-dynia

pain

-ectasis

dilation

-gen

that which produces

-genesis

produces, generates

-genic

produces, produced

-ia

state, condition

-iasis

abnormal condition

-ism

state of

-itis

inflammation

-logist

one who studies

-logy

study of

-lysis

destruction

-malacia

abnormal softening

-megaly

enlargement

-oma

tumor, mass

-osis

abnormal condition

-pathy

disease

-plasia

development, growth

-plasm

formation, development

-ptosis

drooping

-rrhage

excessive, abnormal flow

-rrhea

discharge, flow

-rrhexis

rupture

-sclerosis

hardening

-stenosis

narrowing

-therapy

treatment

-trophy

nourishment, development

a-

without

an-

without

ante-

before

anti-

against

auto-

self

brady-

slow

dys-

painful, difficult

endo-

within, inner

epi-

upon, over

eu-

normal

hetero-

different

homo-

same

hyper-

over, above

hypo-

below, under

infra-

under, beneath, below

inter-

between

intra-

within

macro-

large

micro-

small

neo-

new

pan-

all

para-

near

per-

through

peri-

around

post-

after

pre-

before, in front

pseudo-

false

retero-

backwards

sub-

below

super-

above, excess

supra-

above

tachy-

rapid, fast

trans-

across, through

ultra-

beyond, excess

spelling rule: -a (vertebra)

keep a, add e (vertebrae)

spelling rule: -ax (thorax)

drop x, add -ces (thoraces)

spelling rule: -ex (apex)

drop ex, add -ices (apices)

spelling rule: -ix (appendix)

drop x, add -ces (appendices)

spelling rule: -ma (sarcoma)

keep -ma, add -ta (sarcomata)

spelling rule: -is (metastasis)

drop -is, add -es (metastases)

spelling rule: -on (spermatozoon)

drop on, add a (spermatozoa)

spelling rule: -us (alveolus)

drop -us, add i (alveoli)

spelling rule: -um (ovum)

drop um, add a (ova)

spelling rule: -y (biopsy)

drop y, add ies (biopsies)