HH

Medical Termology

Prefixes

  • a-, an-: Without, not (e.g., asymmetrical, anemia)

  • ab-: Away from (e.g., abduction)

  • ad-: Toward, near (e.g., adduction)

  • ante-: Before (e.g., antenatal)

  • anti-: Against (e.g., antibiotic)

  • auto-: Self (e.g., autoimmune)

  • bi-: Two (e.g., bilateral)

  • brady-: Slow (e.g., bradycardia)

  • circum-: Around (e.g., circumference)

  • contra-: Against, opposite (e.g., contraindication)

  • de-: Down, from, removal (e.g., dehydration)

  • dys-: Difficult, abnormal (e.g., dyspnea)

  • endo-: Within, inner (e.g., endometrium)

  • epi-: Upon, above (e.g., epidermis)

  • ex-, exo-: Out, outside (e.g., exhale, exogenous)

  • hemi-: Half (e.g., hemiplegia)

  • hyper-: Above, excessive (e.g., hypertension)

  • hypo-: Below, deficient (e.g., hypoglycemia)

  • inter-: Between (e.g., intercostal)

  • intra-: Within (e.g., intravenous)

  • macro-: Large (e.g., macrocyte)

  • micro-: Small (e.g., microorganism)

  • multi-: Many (e.g., multiple)

  • neo-: New (e.g., neonatal)

  • peri-: Around (e.g., pericardium)

  • poly-: Many, much (e.g., polyuria)

  • pre-: Before (e.g., preoperative)

  • pro-: Before, forward (e.g., prognosis)

  • retro-: Backward, behind (e.g., retroperitoneal)

  • sub-: Below, under (e.g., subcutaneous)

  • super-: Above, excessive (e.g., superior)

  • tachy-: Fast (e.g., tachycardia)

  • trans-: Across, through (e.g., transfusion)

Suffixes

  • -al, -ic, -ical, -ous, -tic: Pertaining to (e.g., bronchial, gastric, physiological, venous, arthritic)

  • -emia: Blood condition (e.g., anemia)

  • -itis: Inflammation (e.g., appendicitis)

  • -logy: Study of (e.g., physiology)

  • -oma: Tumor (e.g., carcinoma)

  • -pathy: Disease (e.g., neuropathy)

  • -penia: Deficiency (e.g., leukopenia)

  • -scope: Instrument for viewing (e.g., endoscope)

  • -scopy: Visual examination (e.g., colonoscopy)

  • -tomy: Cutting, incision (e.g., apendectomy)

Combining Forms

  • cardio-: Heart (e.g., cardiovascular)

  • cephalo-: Head (e.g., cephalalgia)

  • derma-: Skin (e.g., dermatology)

  • gastro-: Stomach (e.g., gastrointestinal)

  • hepat-: Liver (e.g., hepatitis)

  • neuro-: Nerve (e.g., neurology)

  • osteo-: Bone (e.g., osteoporosis)

  • pneumo-: Lung (e.g., pneumonia)

  • reno-: Kidney (e.g., renovascular)