Chapter 1: Basic Word Structure (Medical Terminology)

All medical terms have:

A. a combining vowel

B. two roots

C. a suffix

D. a prefix

C. a suffix

Which element appears at the beginning of a medical term?

A. suffix

B. prefix

C. Combining vowel

D. Combining form

B. prefix

Root

foundation of the term

Suffix

word ending

Prefix

word beginning

Combining vowel

vowel (usually “o”) that links the root to the suffix of the root to another root and aids pronunciation

Combining form

combination of the root and the combining vowel

True or false: Read the meaning of medical terms from the suffix back to the beginning
of the term and across

True

True or False: Drop the combining vowel (usually o) before a suffix beginning with a vowel: gastritis not “gastroitis”

True

True or False: Keep the combining vowel between two roots: gastroenterology not
“gastrenterology”

True

aden/o

gland

arthr/o

joint

bi/o

life

carcin/o

cancerous, cancer

cardi/o

heart

Which term means inflammation of the gland?

A. Arthritis

B. Adenitis

C. Adenoma

D. Cephalic

B. Adenitis

cephal/o

head

cerebr/o

cerebrum

cis/o

to cut

crin/o

to secrete

cyst/o

urinary bladder

cyt/o

cell

derm/o

skin

dermat/o

skin

electr/o

electricity

encephal/o

brain

enter/o

intestines

Which term means study of cells?

A. Cystoscopy

B. Cystitis

C. Cytology

D. Hematology

C. Cytology

erythr/o

red

gastr/o

stomach

glyc/o

sugar

gnos/o

knowledge

gynec/o

woman, female

hemat/o

blood

hem/o

blood

hepat/o

liver

iatr/o

treatment, physician

leuk/o

white

log/o

study of

nerphr/o

kidney

neur/o

nerve

onc/o

tumor

ophthalm/o

eye

oste/o

bone

path/o

disease

ped/o

child

psych/o

mind

radi/o

x-rays

ren/o

kidney

rhin/o

nose

sarc/o

flesh

sect/o

to cut

thromb/o

clot, clotting

ur/o

urinary tract, urine

-ac

pertaining to

-al

pertaining to

-algia

pain

-ectomy

excision, removal

Which suffix means to “cut out” or remove?

A. -ectomy

B. -scopy

C. -itis

D. -opsy

A. -ectomy

-emia

blood condition

-genic

produced by or in

-globin

protein

-gram

record

-ic

pertaining to

-ical

pertaining to

-ion

process

-ist

specialist

-itis

inflammation

-logy

process of study

-oma

tumor, mass, swelling

-opsy

process of viewing

-osis

condition, usually abnormal

-pathy

disease condition

-scope

instrument to visually examine

-scopy

process of visually examining

-sis

state of; condition

-tomy

process of cutting, incision

-y

process, condition

a-

no, not, without

an-

no, not, without

aut-

self, own

auto-

self, own

dia-

complete, through

epi-

above, upon

ex-

out, outside of, outward

exo-

out, outside of, outward

hyper-

excessive, above, more than normal

hypo-

deficient, below, under, less than normal

in-

into, in

peri-

surrounding, around

pro-

before, forward

re-

back, backward, again

retro-

behind

sub-

below, under

trans-

across, through