heathscience

what is a suffix? what does it usually indicate?

A suffix is added to the end of the word. A suffix modifies the meaning of the word.

-al

pertaining to

-ase

enzyme

-blast

budding

-centesis

surgical puncture

-cidal

causing death

-clast

broken

-crit

to separate

-cyte

cell

-ectomy

excision or surgical removal

-emia

blood condition

-emesis

vomiting

-gen, -genesis, -genic

producing

-glia

glue

-gram

something written

-ia

condition of diseased or abnormal state

-iac, -ic, -ior

pertaining to

-ism

state of

-itia, -itis

inflammation

-logy

study of

-lyte

dissolvable

-lytic

destroy, reduce

-mania

madness or insane desire

-megaly

enlargement

-meter

instrument for measuring

-odia

smell

-ologist

one who studies and practices

-oma

tumor, swelling

-opia

vision

-opsy

to view

-orrhea

flow, excessive discharge

-orrhexis

rupture

-osis

abnormal increase in production

-ostomy

creation of an artificial opening

-otomy

cutting into

-oxia

Oxygen

-pathy

disease

-sclerosis

hardening

-scope

instrument for visual examination

-scopy

visual examination

-sepsis

infection

-spasm

sudden, involuntary muscle contraction

-stasis

control or stop

-tomy

cut into or incision

-tropic

influencing

A-, An-

without or absence of

Ab-

from, away

Ad-

to or toward

Ana-

up

Ante-

before

Anti-

Against

Append-

to hang something

Bi, Bin

two

Brady-

slow

contra-

against

di-

two

dis-

to undo; free from

echo-, exo-, extra-

outside

endo-

within

Epi-

upon

erythr-

red

glyc-

sweet

hyper-

over

hypo-

under

im-

not

infra-

below, beneath

inter-

between

intra-

inside

iso-

equal

macro-

large

mal-

bad

meso-

middle

meta-

after

micro-

small

mono-

one

multi-

many

mut-

change

neo-

new

para-

beside

patho-

disease

peri-

surrounding

poly-

many

post-

after

pre-

before

pseudo-

false

re-

back, again

retro-

backward, behind

semi-

half

sub-

under, below

super-

over, above

syn-

together, joined

tachy-

fast

tetra-

four

trans-

through, across, beyond

tri-

three

ultra-

beyond, excess

uni-

one

What is the rule for word roots, suffixes, and prefixes when combining word parts?

prefix- beginning

word root- middle

suffix- end