Medical Terms: Basics and the Body
Combining Forms: Root Word
| Combining Form | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Anter/o | Front |
| Arthr/o | Joint |
| Bi/o | Life |
| Cardi/o | Heart |
| Caud/o | Tail |
| Cephal/o | Head |
| Cervic/o | Neck; cervix |
| Col/o, colon/o | Large Intestine; colon |
| Cost/o | Rib |
| Cyt/o | Cell |
| Dist/o | Away from the point of origin; far; distant |
| Dors/o | Back of body |
| Enter/o | Intestine (small) |
| Gastr/o | Stomach |
| Glyc/o | Sugar; glucose |
| Hepat/o | Liver |
| Hist/o | Tissue |
| Infer/o | Below |
| Later/o | Side |
| Lip/o | Fat |
| Log/o | Study |
| Medi/o | Middle |
| My/o | Muscle |
| Neur/o | Nerve |
| Path/o | Disease |
| Poster/o | Back (of body); behind |
| Proxim/o | Near the point of origin; near; close |
| Sarc/o | Flesh, connective tissue |
| Super/o | Above |
| Thorac/o | Chest |
| Ventr/o | Belly side of body; ventral aspect |
| Viscer/o | Internal organs |
\ Combining Forms indicating color:
| cyan/o | Blue |
|---|---|
| Erythr/o | Red |
| Leuk/o | White |
| Melan/o | Black |
| Poli/o | Gray |
\ Prefixes:
| a-, an- | Not; without |
|---|---|
| Ab- | Away from |
| Ad- | Toward |
| Ante- | Before |
| Anti- | Against |
| Bi- | Two; both |
| Brady- | Slow |
| Dys- | Bad; difficult; painful |
| Endo- | In; within |
| Epi- | On; over; upon |
| Eu- | Good, normal |
| Hyper- | Above; above normal; excessive |
| Hypo- | Below; below normal; Deficient |
| Inter- | Between |
| Intra- | Within; into |
| Neo- | new |
| Peri- | Around; surrounding |
| Pre- | before |
| Post- | after |
| Sub- | Below; under |
| Supra- | Above |
| Tachy- | Fast |
| Trans- | across |
\ Suffixes:
| -ac, -al, -ar, -ary, -iac, -ial, -ic, -ical, -ior | Pertaining to |
|---|---|
| -algia | Pain |
| -cyte | Cell |
| -centesis | Surgical puncture to remove fluid |
| -dynia | pain |
| -ectomy | Surgical removal, excision |
| -emia | Blood condition |
| -gen | Substances that produces |
| -gram | Record or picture (noun) |
| -graphy | Process of recording |
| -ia | Condition |
| -ine | A substance (noun)Pertaining to (verb) |
| -itis | Inflammation |
| -logist /-ologist | Specialist (one who studies) |
| -logy/-ology | The study of |
| -malacia | Abnormal softening |
| -megaly | Enlargement |
| -necrosis | Tissue death |
| -oma | Tumor; mass |
| -osis | Abnormal condition |
| -pathy | Disease |
| -plasty | Surgical repair |
| -rrhage, -rrhagia | bursting forth; excessive discharge |
| -rraphy | Suture; stitch |
| -rrhea | Abnormal flow or discharge |
| -rrhexis | Rupture |
| -sclerosis | Abnormal hardening |
| -scope | Instrument used for visual examination |
| -scopy | Visual examination |
| -stomy/ostomy | Surgical opening |
| -stenosis | Abnormal narrowing |
| -tomy/-otomy | Process of cutting; incision |
| -um | Structure; tissue; thing/noun ending |
\ Medical Abbreviations:
| abd | Abdomen; abdominal |
|---|---|
| CBC | Complete blood (Cell) count |
| c/o | Complains of |
| Consult | Consultation |
| CT | Computed tomography |
| CXR | Chest X Ray |
| ECG, EKG | Electrocardiogram |
| ER | Emergency Room |
| hs | Half strength, bedtime |
| NKDA | No known drug allergy |
| NPO | Nothing by Mouth |
| OB/GYN | Obstetrician/gynecologist |
| OR | Operating Room |
| postop | After surgery; postoperative |
| preop | Before surgery; preoperative |
| Pt, pt | Patient |
| SOB | Shortness of Breath |
| Stat,STAT | Immediately |
| T&C | Type and crossmatch |
| UA | Urinalysis |
| VS, V/S | Vital Signs |
| WNL | Within normal limits |
| wt | Weight |
| y/o | Year(s) old |
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