Chapter 1: Introduction to Medical Language

Vocabulary practice cards covering fundamental principles, roots, suffixes, prefixes, and rules of medical terminology from Chapter 1.

Ultima

The last syllable of a word.

Penult

The almost-last syllable of a word.

Antepenult

The syllable that is just before the penult (the third-to-last syllable), where emphasis usually falls in medical terms.

Root

The foundation or subject of a medical term that functions like a noun.

Suffix

The ending word part that gives essential meaning to the medical term.

Prefix

A word part placed at the beginning of a term when needed to further modify the root.

Combining Vowel

A vowel (most commonly "o") added to join a root with other word parts or another root.

Combining Form

The combination of a word root plus its combining vowel.

Eponym

A word source derived from a person's name, such as Lou Gehrig's disease.

Acronym

A word formed from the initial letters of a phrase, such as MRI.

gen/o

General purpose root meaning creation or cause.

hydr/o

General purpose root meaning water.

morph/o

General purpose root meaning change.

myc/o

General purpose root meaning fungus.

necr/o

General purpose root meaning death.

orth/o

General purpose root meaning straight.

path/o

General purpose root meaning suffering or disease.

phag/o

General purpose root meaning eat.

plas/o

General purpose root meaning formation.

py/o

General purpose root meaning pus.

scler/o

General purpose root meaning hard.

sten/o

General purpose root meaning narrowing.

troph/o

General purpose root meaning nourishment or development.

xen/o

General purpose root meaning foreign.

Diminutive Suffix

A suffix category that transforms a term's meaning to a smaller version (e.g., -icle, -ole, -ule, -ula).

-cele

Suffix describing a hernia (a bulging of tissue into an area where it doesn't belong).

-emia

Suffix describing a blood condition.

-lysis

Suffix meaning to loosen or break down.

-malacia

Suffix meaning abnormal softening.

-megaly

Suffix meaning enlargement.

-ptosis

Suffix meaning drooping.

-rrhage / -rrhagia

Suffixes meaning excessive flow.

-rrhexis

Suffix meaning rupture.

-centesis

Suffix for a test meaning puncture.

-desis

Treatment suffix meaning binding or fixation.

-pexy

Treatment suffix meaning surgical fixation.

-plasty

Treatment suffix meaning reconstruction.

-stomy

Treatment suffix meaning creation of an opening.

-tomy

Treatment suffix meaning incision.

brady-

Time/speed prefix meaning slow.

tachy-

Time/speed prefix meaning fast.

dys-

General prefix meaning bad.

eu-

General prefix meaning good.

oligo-

Size or quantity prefix meaning few.

pan-

Size or quantity prefix meaning all.