Med Term Chapter 3

anter/o

anter/o

front

caud/o

tail (downward)

cephal/o

head (upward)

dist/o

away (from the point of attachment)

dors/o

back

inter/o

below

later/o

side

medi/o

middle

poster/o

back, behind

proxim/o

near (the point of attachment)

super/o

above

ventr/o

belly (front)

radi/o

x-rays, ionizing radiation

son/o

sound

tom/o

to cut, section, or slice

axial

horizontal plane dividing the body into superior and inferior portions

coronal

vertical plane passing through the body from side, dividing the body into anterior and posterior portions

midsagittal

vertical plane passing through the body from front to back at the midline, dividing the body equally into right and left halves

parasagittal

vertical plane passing through the body from front to back, dividing the body into unequal left and right halves

sagittal

vertical plane passing through the body from front to back, dividing the body into right and left sides

fowler position

semi-sitting position with slight elevation of the knees

lateral recumbent position

lying on the side; right and left preceded the term to indicate the patients side

lithotomy position

lying on the back with legs raised and feet in stirrups, hips and knees flexed, and thighs abducted and externally rotated

orthopnea

sitting upright in a chair or in bed supported by pillows behind the back. Sometimes the patient tilts forward, resting on a pillow supported by an overbed table

prone position

lying on abdomen, facing downward; head may be turned to one side

recumbent position

lying in any position

sims position

lying on side in a semiprone position with the knee drawn up toward the chest and the arm drawn behind the parallel to the back.

supine position

lying on back, facing upward

trendelenburg position

lying on back with body tilted so that the head is lower than the feet

radiograph

record of x-rays

rdiography

process of recording x-rays

radiologist

physician who specializes in x-rays

radiology

study of x-rays

sonogram

record of sound

sonography

process of recording sound

computed tomography (CT)

imaging modality that combines x-rays with computer technology to produce detailed, cross secitonal images of the body called, "slices"

fluroscopy

imaging of moving body structures, like an x-ray movie

nuclear medicine (NM)

imaging of internal structures by using a Gamma camera to detect radiation from different parts of the body after a radioactive material (radioisotope) has been given to the patient

magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

high strength, computer-controlled magnetic fields producing a series of sectional images (slices) that visualize abnormalities such as swelling, infections, tumors, and herniated disks

scan

image obtained from diagnostic imaging procedures using sensing devices and (most often) radioisotopes

umbilical region

around the navel

lumbar regions

to the right and left of the umbilical region, near the waist

epigastric region

superior to the umbilical region

hypochondriac region

to the right and left of the epigastric regions

hypogastric region

inferior to the umbilical region

iliac regions

to the right and left of the hypogastric region, near the groin