Medical Terminology

(Roots, Prefixes, Suffixes, and Terms)

Cranial

Skull or head end

Inferior

Lower or below another

Caudal

Tail end

Cranial Cavity

Brain

Medial

Toward the midline or median plane of the body

Lateral

Away or toward the side of the body

Proximal

Toward the point of attachment to the body, toward the trunk of the body

Distal

Away from the point of attachment or origin, furthest from the trunk

Thoracic Cavity

Esophagus, bronchi, lungs, trachea, thymus, gland, and heart

Transverse plane

Horizontal cut that divides body into upper and lower parts

Coronal (frontal) plane

A vertical cut at right angles to the sagittal plane, dividing anterior and posterior

Spinal Cavity

Spinal cord

Abdominopelvic cavity

Upper, middle, and lower region (abdominal/pelvic)

Pelvic cavity

Bladder, reproductive, organs, appendix, rectum

Ventral Cavity

Upper thoracic and lower abdominopelvic cavities

Anterior

Front

Ventral

In front of

Posterior

Back

Dorsal

In back of

Dorsal Cavity

Brain and Spinal Cord

Sagittal Plane

Divides the body into right and left parts

Superior

Upper or above another

Epi-

Upon

Brady-

Slow

Hypo-

Deficient, below

Dia-

Complete

Tachy-

Fast

Hyper-

Excessive, above

Micro-

Small

Mega-

Large

A-, an-

No, not, without

Gastr/o

Stomach

Onc/o

Tumor, mass

Oste/o

Bones

Cardi/o

Heart

Psych/o

Mind

Arthr/o

Joints

Cephal/o

Head

Pneum/o

Lungs

Hepat/o

Liver

Vertebr/o

Vertebrae, backbone

Phleb/o

Veins

Hem/o, Hemat/o

Blood

My/o

Muscle

Neur/o

Nerve

Ped/o

Children

Derm/o, Dermat/o

Skin

Enter/o

Intestine

-itis

Inflammation

-al, -iac, -ic

Pertaining to

-logy

Study of

-ly, -y

Condition of, process of

-tomy

Process of cutting

-pathy

Disease condition

-gram

Record, picture

-algia

Pain

-scopy

Process of visually examining

-iatrics, -iatry

Treatment