Pearson: Chapter 1 Notes - MT

Chapter 1: Introduction to Medical Terminology



Building Medical Terms from Word Parts

  • Word root of cardiogram (record of the heart): cardi

  • Prefix of Pericardium (around the heart): peri

  • Suffix of Carditis (inflammation of the heart): -itis

  • Combining vowel of cardiomyopathy (heart muscle disease): cardi/o & my/o - “o”



Combining Forms

  • bi/o: life

  • carcin/o: cancer

  • cardi/o: heart

  • chem/o: chemical

  • cis/o: to cut

  • dermat/o: skin

  • enter/o: small intestine

  • gastr/o: stomach

  • gynec/o: female

  • hemat/o: blood

  • immun/o: immunity

  • laryng/o: voice box

  • nephr/o: kidney

  • ophthalm/o: eye

  • ot/o: ear

  • path/o: disease

  • pulmon/o: lung

  • rhin/o: nose



Common Prefixes

  • A-: without

  • An-: without

  • Anti: against

  • auto- : self

  • Brady-: slow

  • De-: without

  • Dis-: apart from

  • Dys-: painful, difficult, abnormal

  • Endo-: within, inner

  • Epi-: above

  • Eu-: normal

  • Ex-: outward

  • Extra-: outside of

  • Hetero-: different

  • Homo-: same

  • Hyper-: excessive

  • Hypo-: below, insufficient

  • In-: not, inward

  • Inter-: between

  • Intra-: within

  • Macro-: large

  • Micro-: small

  • Neo-: new

  • Non-: not

  • Para-: beside, abnormal, two like parts of a pair

  • per- : through

  • Peri-: around

  • Post-: after

  • Pre-: before

  • Pro-: before

  • Pseudo-: false

  • Re-: again

  • Retro-: backward, behind

  • Sub-: under

  • Syn-: together

  • Tachy-: fast

  • Trans-: across

  • Ultra-: beyond

  • Un-: not



Number prefixes

  • Bi-: two

  • Hemi-: half

  • Mono-: one

  • Multi-: many

  • Nulli-: none

  • Pan-: all

  • Poly-: many

  • Quadri-: four

  • Semi-: partial, half

  • Tetra-: four

  • Tri-: three



Common Suffixes

  • -algia: pain

  • -cele: protrusion

  • -cyte: cell

  • -dynia: pain

  • -extasis: dilation

  • -gen: that which produces

  • -genesis: produces

  • -genic: producing

  • -ia: condition

  • -iasis: abnormal condition

  • -ism: state of

  • -itis: inflammation

  • -logical: pertaining to study of

  • -logist: one who studies

  • -logy: study of

  • -lytic: destruction

  • -malacia: abnormal softening

  • -megaly: enlarged

  • -oma: tumor, mass

  • -opsy: view of

  • -osis: abnormal condition

  • -pathy: disease

  • -plasm: formation

  • -plegia: paralysis

  • -ptosis: dropping

  • -rrhage: abnormal flow

  • -rrhagia: abnormal flow condition

  • -rrhea: discharge

  • -rrhexis: rupture

  • -sclerosis: hardening 

  • -stenosis: narrowing

  • -therapy: treatment

  • -trophy: development



Surgical Suffixes

  • -centesis: puncture to withdraw fluid

  • -ectomy: surgical removal

  • -ostomy: surgically create an opening

  • -otomy: cutting into

  • -pexy: surgical fixation

  • -plasty: surgical repair

  • -rrhaphy: suture

  • -tome: instrument to cut

  • -gram: record

  • -graphy: process of recording

  • -meter: instrument for measuring

  • -metry: process of measuring

  • -scope: instrument for viewing

  • -scopic: pertaining to visually examining

  • -scopy: process of visually examining



General Rules for Plurals: Suffixes

  • Singular -a: vertebra

  • Plural -a: vertebrae

  • Singular -ax: thorax

  • Plural -ax: thoraces

  • Singular -ex or -ix: appendix

  • Plural -ex or -ix: appendices

  • Singular -is: metastasis

  • Plural -is: metastases

  • Singular -ma: sarcoma

  • Plural -ma: sarcomata

  • Singular -nx: phalanx

  • Plural -nx: phalanges

  • Singular -on: ganglion

  • Plural -on: ganglia

  • Singular -um: ovum

  • Plural -um: ova

  • Singular -us: nucleus

  • Plural -us: nuclei

  • Singular -y: biopsy

  • Plural -y: biopsies



The Medical Record

  • History and Physical: a physician's report of the patient’s history, exam results, initial diagnosis, and plan of treatment

  • Physician’s Orders: An order from the doctor consisting of care, medication, test, and treatments

  • Nurse’s Notes: Nurse’s report of the patient’s care throughout the day

  • Physician’s Progress Notes: the physician’s daily record of the patient’s condition

  • Consultation Report: physician asks a specialist to evaluate the patient

  • Ancillary Report: contains reports of treatments and therapies the patient has recieved

  • Diagnostic reports: contain the results of all diagnostic tests, mainly from the lab and X-ray

  • Operative Report: a surgeon describing the operation

  • Anesthesiologist’s Report: provides details of the drugs given to the patient, the patients response to the drugs, and vital signs during surgery

  • Pathologist's Report: a report by a pathologist who studies tissue removed from the patient 

  • Discharge Summary: summarizes the patient’s entire hospital stay