Medical Terminology and Body Organization Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering medical roots, prefixes, suffixes, vowel rules, clinical terms, and human body organization.

Decoding a Word

The process of determining a word's meaning by looking at the end of the word (suffix), the front of the word (prefix), and the middle of the word (root).

Vowel Combining Rule for "o"

The letter "o" is used to make medical terms easy to pronounce. Keep "o" if the suffix starts with a consonant; drop "o" if the suffix starts with a vowel (A, E, I, O, U).

Card- / Cardi-

Root meaning heart.

Cerebr-

Root meaning brain.

Hepat-

Root meaning liver.

Splen-

Root meaning spleen.

Nephr-

Root meaning kidney.

Phleb- / Ven-

Roots meaning vein.

Neur-

Root meaning nerve.

Rhin-

Root meaning nose.

Eryth-

Root meaning red.

Cyt-

Root meaning cell.

Derm-

Root meaning skin.

Leuk-

Root meaning white.

Lip-

Root meaning fat.

Path-

Root meaning disease.

My-

Root meaning muscle.

Hem-

Root meaning blood.

Hist-

Root meaning tissue.

Encephal-

Root meaning brain, head.

Gastr-

Root meaning stomach.

Viscer-

Root meaning internal organs.

-algia

Suffix meaning pain.

-logy

Suffix meaning study of.

-ic

Suffix meaning pertaining to.

-gram

Suffix meaning recording.

-oma

Suffix meaning tumor / swelling.

-ectomy

Suffix meaning surgical removal.

-graph

Suffix meaning instrument to record.

-oid

Suffix meaning similar to / resembling.

-itis

Suffix meaning inflammation.

-stomy

Suffix meaning creation of artificial opening.

-pathy

Suffix meaning disease.

-megaly

Suffix meaning enlargement.

-plasty

Suffix meaning surgical repair.

-scope

Suffix meaning instrument to view.

-meter

Suffix meaning instrument to measure.

a-

Prefix meaning without.

ante-

Prefix meaning before.

anti-

Prefix meaning against.

tachy-

Prefix meaning fast.

brady-

Prefix meaning slow.

dys-

Prefix meaning difficult, painful.

hyper-

Prefix meaning above, high, excessive.

hypo-

Prefix meaning below, low, deficient.

poly-

Prefix meaning many.

peri-

Prefix meaning around.

trans-

Prefix meaning across.

endo-

Prefix meaning within, inside.

Ophthalmoscope

Instrument for examining the eye.

Oncology

Study of cancer.

Osteitis

Inflammation of bone.

Thrombocyte

Clotting cell.

Nephrectomy

Removal of kidney.

Carcinogenic

Causing cancer.

Subhepatic

Below the liver.

Pericardium

Structure or membrane around the heart.

Hypodermic

Under the skin.

Epigastrium

Region above the stomach.

Anemia

Low level of red blood cells.

Hyperglycemia

High blood sugar.

Urology

Study of the urinary tract.

Hematology

Study of blood.

Cyanosis

Abnormal condition of blue skin.

Macrocyte

Large red blood cell.

Thoracic

Pertaining to the chest.

Biopsy

Testing body tissue.

Paroxysm

Sudden violent attack.

Larynx

Voice box.

Pleura

Membrane surrounding lungs.

Pharynx

Throat.

Ureter

Tube from the kidney.

Adipose tissue

Collection of fat cells.

Pituitary gland

Endocrine organ located at the base of the brain.

Trachea

Windpipe.

Cartilage

Flexible connective tissue.

Pertussis

Whooping cough.

Diaphragm

Main breathing muscle.

Insulin

Blood sugar regulating hormone.

Palatine tonsils

Throat immune tissue.

Tetany

Muscle spasms from low calcium.

Epithelioma

Tumor of epithelial tissue.

Fibrosis

Abnormal condition of fibrous tissue.

Histologist

Person who studies tissue.

Myositis

Inflammation of muscle tissue.

Neuropathy

Disease of nerves.

Organomegaly

Abnormal enlargement of an organ.

Encephalograph

Instrument or record used to record brain activity.

Encephaloma

Brain tumor.

Endocarditis

Inflammation of the inner heart lining.

Enteritis

Inflammation of intestine.

Enterolith

Intestinal stone.

Fibroma

Fibrous tumor.

Hematoma

Swelling blood or collection of blood.

Hemothorax

Blood in the chest.

Hepatomegaly

Enlargement of liver.

Histopathology

Study of diseased tissues.

Hypogastric

Pertaining to lower abdomen.

Lipoid

Resembling fat.

Litholysis

Breakdown of stones.