emt ch.5 - medical terminology

combining form

when a vowel is added to the end of a root which can then be added to other words, roots, or suffixes.

therm/o —> thermometer

prefixes

tells the reader what kind, where, in what direction, or how many

dys/pnea —> painful/breathing

intra/abdominal pain —> pain within the abdominal

suffixes

added to the ends of roots/words to complete their meaning.

may be used to indicate a state, quantity, condition, procedure, or process

broncho/pulmo

root: lungs

cardi

root: heart

gastro

root: stomach

hepat

root: liver

neur

root: nerve

nas

root: nasal

or

root: oral

pneumo

root: air/lungs

ab-

prefix: away from

ad-

prefix: towards

ante-

prefix: before

brady-

prefix: slow/below normal

contra-

prefix: against

dys-

prefix: difficult/painful

hyper-

prefix: above average

hypo-

prefix: below average

inter-

prefix: between

intra-

prefix: inside

peri-

prefix: around

poly-

prefix: many

post-

prefix: after

pre-

prefix: before

sub-

prefix: below

super/supra

prefix: above/excess

tachy-

prefix: above normal/rapid

uni-

prefix: one

-ac

suffix: in relation to

-algia

suffix: pain

-emesis

suffix: vomiting

-itis

suffix: inflammation  

-ology

suffix: study of

-plegia

suffix: paralysis

-pnea

suffix: breathing

-rrhea

suffix: discharge

-spasm

suffix: contraction

-al

suffix: pertaining to

-ist

suffix: to specialize in

plegia

prefix: paralysis of the limbs

-itis

suffix: inflammation

anatomy

study of the bodys structure

physiology

the study of body function

anatomic position

standard body position for anatomy

body is standing erect, facing the observer, with arms at the sides and the hands of the hands forward 

plane

a flat surface formed when slicing through an object

the body is divided into planes for direction and spatial relationships

midline

an imaginary line cutting down the center of the body

medial

towards the midline

lateral

away from the midline

posterior

the back of the body

synonym: dorsal (think: back door)

anterior

front of the body

synonym: ventral 

proximal

towards/proximate to the trunk

distal

away/distant from the trunk

superior

towards the head

inferior

away from the head

bilateral

both sides

unilateral

one side

palmer

relating to the palm

plantar

the sole of the foot

midclavical line

line through the center of each clavical

abdominal quadrants

right upper quadrant RUQ

left upper quadrant LUQ

right lower quadrant RLQ

left lower quadrant LLQ

supine

laying on the back

prone

laying face down

fowler position

sitting down

chol/e

bile

cyst

closed sac

Right upper quadrant

liver, pancreas, gallabladder

Left upper quadrant

Liver, spleen, stomach, pancreas

Right lower quadrant

small intestines, major artery + vein to the right leg, ureter, appendix

Left lower quadrant

small intestines, major artery + vein to the left leg, ureter