Medical Terminology - Suffixes, Combining Forms, and Specialties

Vocabulary flashcards derived from medical terminology lecture notes covering prefixes, suffixes, combining forms, body structures, and common clinical abbreviations.

-er, -ist

one who

-iatrician

practitioner

-logist

one who studies, specializes

-ic, -ac, -al, -ical

pertaining to

logic, -logical

pertaining to study of

-iatrics, -iatry

medical profession/treatment

-logy

study/science of

cardi/o

heart

esthesi/o

feeling/sensation

crin/o

to secrete

dermat/o

skin

gastr/o

stomach

enter/o

small intestines

ger/a, ger/o, geront/o

elderly/aged

gynec/o

female (disorders)

immun/o

immune system

laryng/o

larynx (voicebox)

ne/o, nat/o

new, birth

neur/o

nerve(s)

obstetr/o

obstetrics/midwifery

onc/o

tumors (-oma)

ophthalm/o

eye(s)

ot/o

ear(s)

orth/o

straight

ped/o

child

pod/o

foot

path/o (-pathy)

disease

psych/o

mind

radi/o

radiation (or radius)

rheumat/o

rheumatism (connective tissue disorder)

rhin/o (nas/o)

nose

ur/o

urinary tract (urine)

-centesis

surgical puncture (to remove fluid)

-ectomy

surgical removal (excision)

-lysis

loosening, freeing, destroying

-pexy

surgical fixation (fastening in fixed position)

-plasty

surgical repair

-rrhaphy

suture (uniting wound by stitches)

-scope

tool to view

-scopy

process of viewing

-stomy

surgical formation of an opening

-tome

instrument used for cutting

-tomy

incision (cutting into tissue)

-tripsy

surgical crushing

endo-

within, inside

an-

without, not

pre-

before

phleb/o

vein

aden/o

gland

angi/o

vessel

append/o, appendic/o

appendix

bi/o

life or living

blephar/o

eyelid

cerebr/o, encephal/o

brain (en-)

chir/o

hand

col/o, colon/o

colon, large intestine

cutane/o, derm/a, dermat/o

skin

faci/o

face

hepat/o

liver

mamm/o, mast/o

breast

muscul/o, my/o

muscle

myel/o

bone marrow or spinal cord

oste/o

bone

pulm/o, pulmon/o, pneum/o, pneumon/o

lungs

tonsill/o

tonsil

trache/o

trachea, windpipe

vas/o

vessel or ductus deferens (sperm duct)

-algia, -dynia

pain

-cele

hernia (protrusion through)

-ectasia, -ectasis

dilation (stretching)

-edema

swelling

-emesis

vomiting

-emia

condition of blood

-ia, -iasis

condition

-itis

inflammation

-lith (lith/o)

stone or calculus

-malacia

soft, softening

-mania

excessive preoccupation

-megaly

enlargement

-oid

resembling

-osis

(abnormal) condition

-penia

deficiency

-phobia

abnormal fear

-ptosis

prolapse (sagging)

-rrhagia, -rrhage

excessive bleeding hemorrhage

-rrhea

flow or discharge

-rrhexis

rupture

-spasm

twitching, cramp, spasm

-stasis

stopping, controlling

dent/o, dent/i, odont/o

teeth

-ase

enzyme

-eum, -ium

membrane

-iac

one who suffers

-opia

vision (opt/o)

-ose

sugar

adip/o, lip/o

fat

amyl/o

starch

glyc/o

sugar

hemat/o

blood

lact/o

milk