Med Terms, Suffixes, and Prefixes

a/an-

without, lack of (e.g., —emia: without enough red blood cells)

ab-

away from (e.g., —duction: movement away from the body)

ad-

toward (e.g., —duction: movement toward the body)

anti-

against (e.g., —biotic: against bacterial life)

brady-

slow (e.g., —cardia: slow heart rate)

dys-

bad, difficult, or abnormal (e.g., —uria: painful urination)

endo-

inside (e.g., —scopy: looking inside the body)

epi-

upon, on top of (e.g., —dermis: outer layer of skin)

ex/exo-

outside, out (e.g., —cision: cutting out)

hemi-

half (e.g., —plegia: paralysis of half the body)

hyper-

over, excessive (e.g., —tension: high blood pressure)

hypo-

under, below normal (e.g., —glycemia: low blood sugar)

inter-

between (e.g., —costal: between the ribs)

intra-

within (e.g., —venous: within a vein)

neo-

new (e.g., —natal: pertaining to newborns)

para-

beside, near, abnormal (e.g., —plegia: paralysis of the lower body)

peri-

around (e.g., —cardium: membrane around the heart)

poly-

many (e.g., —uria: excessive urination)

post-

after (e.g., —operative: after surgery)

pre-

before (e.g., —natal: before birth)

sub-

under, below (e.g., —cutaneous: under the skin)

super/supra-

above, excessive (e.g., —renal: above the kidney)

tachy-

fast (e.g., —cardia: fast heart rate)

trans-

across (e.g., —dermal: across the skin)

uni-

one (e.g., —lateral: one-sided)

what do prefixes indicate?

location, number, time, or status

what do suffixes indicate?

procedures, conditions, diseases, or medical specialties

-algia

pain (e.g., Neur—: nerve pain)

-ectomy

surgical removal (e.g., Append—: removal of the appendix)

-emia

blood condition (e.g., An—: lack of healthy red blood cells)

-genic

producing, causing (e.g., Patho—: disease-causing)

-gram

record, picture (e.g., Electrocardio—: heart’s electrical record)

-graph

instrument for recording (e.g., Electrocardio—: records heart activity)

-itis

inflammation (e.g., Arthr—: joint inflammation)

-logy

study of (e.g., Cardio—: study of the heart)

-lysis

breakdown, destruction (e.g., Hemo—: breakdown of red blood cells)

-malacia

softening (e.g., Osteo—: softening of bones)

-megaly

enlargement (e.g., Cardio—: enlarged heart)

-oma

tumor, mass (e.g., Carcin—: cancerous tumor)

-opia

vision condition (e.g., My—: nearsightedness)

-osis

condition, usually abnormal (e.g., Cyan—: bluish skin condition)

-pathy

disease (e.g., Neuro—: nerve disease)

-penia

deficiency (e.g., Leuko—: low white blood cell count)

-phobia

fear (e.g., Hydro—: fear of water)

-plasty

surgical repair (e.g., Rhino—: surgical repair of the nose)

-plegia

paralysis (e.g., Quadri—: paralysis of all four limbs)

-rrhage/rrhagia

excessive flow (e.g., Hemo—: excessive bleeding)

-rrhea

discharge, flow (e.g., Dia—: frequent bowel discharge)

-scope

instrument for viewing (e.g., Endo—: instrument for internal viewing)

-scopy

process of viewing (e.g., Colono—: viewing of the colon)

-stasis

stopping, controlling (e.g., Homeo—: maintaining internal balance)

-tomy

cutting into (e.g., Laparo—: incision into the abdominal cavity)

BP

blood pressure

HR

heart rate(pulse)

RR

respiratory rate

O2 Sat

oxygen saturation

T

temperature

Ht

height

Wt

weight

BMI

body mass index

SOB

shortness of breath

N/V

nausea/vomiting

HA

headache

DOE

dyspnea on exertion

c/o

complains of

PND

paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea

PN

pain

LOC

loss of consciousness

LMP

last menstrual period

AMS

altered mental status

DVT

deep vein thrombosis

UTI

urinary tract infection

ABD

abdomen

QID

four times a day

BID

twice a day

TID

three times a day

PRN

as needed

STAT

immediately

q4h

every 4 hours

HS

at bedtime

WNL

within normal limits

PO

by mouth(orally)

IV

intravenous

NPO

nothing by mouth

R/O

rule out

Hx

history

Rx

prescription

Dx

diagnosis

IM

intramuscular

qh

every hour

CXR

chest x-ray

ECG/EKG

electrocardiogram