Medical Terminology Suffixes and Prefixes

Flashcards covering key medical terminology suffixes and prefixes including meanings.

-centesis

To puncture, perforate, or tap, thereby permitting withdrawal of substances (e.g., fluid, air).

-ectomy

To excise or surgically remove.

-ize

Use, subject to.

-pexy

Fixation or suturing (a stabilizing type of repair).

-plasty

To shape, the surgical formation of, or plastic surgery to improve function, relieve pain, or for cosmetic reasons.

-rrhaphy

To surgically repair by joining in a seam or by suturing together.

-stomy

To make a new, artificial opening in a hollow organ or to create a new opening between two hollow organs.

-tomy

To incise or cut into (making an incison).

-algia

Pain.

-emesis

Vomit.

-emia

Blood condition.

-esis, -iasis, -asis

Infestation or infection with, a condition characterized by.

-genesis

Development, origin.

-ism

A state or condition, a fact of being, result of a process.

-itis

Inflammation of.

-megaly

Enlarged.

-oma

Tumor.

-osis

Abnormal condition or process of degeneration.

-path, -pathy

Disease.

-penia

Deficiency or lack of.

-phage, -phagy

Eating.

-phobia

Abnormal fear or intolerance of.

-plasia, -plastic, -plasty

Forming, growing, changing.

-pnea

Breathing.

-rrhea

Flow or discharge.

a-, an-

Without or not having.

anti-

Against.

brachy-

Short.

brady-

Slow.

cata-

Down, under, lower, against.

contra-

Against, opposed.

crypt/o-

Hidden.

de-

Remove, take away, loss of.

dis-

Apart from, free from.

dolich/o-

Long.

dys-

Difficult, painful, abnormal.

e-, ec-, eu-

Out of, from, away from / Normal, good, true, healthy.

glyc/o-, gluc/o-

Sugar, sweet.

hem/a-, hemat/o-, hem/o-

Blood.

hemi-

Half.

hydr/o-

Water, fluid.

hyper-

High, excessive.

hypo-

Low, insufficient.

macro-

Large.

mal-

Bad, poor.

mega-, megal-

Large, oversized.

micro-

Small.

necr/o-

Death.

neo-

New.

olig/o-

Few, little.

pan-

All, entire.

poly-

Many, much.

pseudo-

False.

py/o-

Pus.

tachy-

Fast, rapid.

ure-, ure/a-, ure/o-, urin-, urin/o, ur/o-

Urine or urea.

-graph

Instrument or machine that writes or records.

-graphy

Procedure of using an instrument or machine to record.

-gram

Product, written record, "picture," or graph produced.

-meter

Instrument or machine that measures or counts.

-metry, -imetry

Procedure of measuring.

-scope

Instrument for examining, viewing, or listening.

-scopy

Act of examining or using the scope.

-tome

Instrument for cutting, such as into smaller or thinner sections.