Bio Vocab

Root, prefix or suffix	Definition	Example
A, an	Not, without	A patient is asymptomatic if she does not have symptoms.
Ad	Towards	Adductor muscles bring limbs toward the body.
Amph	Double, both	Amphibians live both on land and in the water.
Arthro	Joint	Arthritis is a stiffness of the joints caused by inflammation.
Auto	Self	Autotrophic organisms are considered self-feeders because they make their own food.
Bio	Life	Biology is the study of living things.
Blast	Germ, embryo	The blastula is an early stage of embryonic development.
Cardi	Heart	The pericardium is the sac around the heart.
Chlor	Green	Chlorophyll is the green pigment in plants.
Chrom	Color	Chromatography is a technique that can separate pigments of color.
Cide, cis	To kill, to cut	Pesticides are used to kill agricultural pests.
Cyt	Cell	Erythrocytes are red blood cells.
De	Without	Denatured proteins are without the structure necessary for function.
Derm	Skin	The dermis is the layer of skin that includes blood vessels, nerves, sweat glands and other important structures.
Ecto, exo	Outside of	Exoskeletons protect bodies on the outside.
Endo, en	Within	Endoskeletons support bodies from within.
Epi	Above, upon	The epidermis is the layer that rests upon the dermis.
Gastr	Stomach	Gastritis is the inflammation of the stomach.
Gen	Origin	Angiogenesis is the development of new blood vessels.
Glyc	Sugar	People with hypoglycemia have too low blood sugar.
Hem	Blood	Hematology is the study of blood.
Root, prefix or suffix	Definition	Example
Herb	Plants	Herbivores eat plants.
Hetero	Other, different	Heterotrophs get their energy from other organisms.
Hom	Same, alike	Wings on a bat and arms on a human are homologous structures because their anatomy is similar.
Hydro	Water	Hydrophobic substances repel water.
Hyper	Over, above	Hyperthermia is the condition of having a body temperature greatly above normal.
Hypo	Below, beneath	Hypothyroidism is the condition of having an underactive thyroid.
Im, in	Not	The independent variable does not depend on the dependent variable.
Inter	Between	An international traveller is a person who goes from one country to another.
Intra	Within	Intramural sports are athletic competitions from teams from the same school.
Itis	Inflammation	Colitis is inflammation of the colon.
Lys	Break	Hydrolysis means to break a bond during a reaction with water.
Macro	Large, long	If an object is macroscopic, it is visible to the naked eye.
Mes	Middle, between	Mesoderm is located between the endoderm and ectoderm.
Meta	After, beyond	A tadpole undergoes a metamorphosis to become a frog.
Meter	Measure	A glucometer measures the amount of glucose in the blood.
Micro	Small, as a metric prefix = 10^-6	A microscope is used for viewing very small objects.
Mono, Uni	one, single	Something that is monochrome has only one color
Myo	Muscle	The myocardium is the muscular tissue of the heart.
Neo	New	Neonatal nurses take care of newborn babies.
Nom	Name, order	Taxonomy is the branch of science concerned with classification and naming.
-oid	Resemble, like	Organisms that resemble humans are said to be humanoid.
Ology	Study of	Biology is the study of living things.
Ortho	Straight, correct	An orthodontist straightens teeth.
Ose	Sugar	Glucose and sucrose are types of sugar.
Root, prefix or suffix	Definition	Example
Path	Disease	Pathologists study the cause and effects of diseases.
Ped, pod	Foot	Arthropods, such as insects, spiders and crustaceans, have jointed feet.
Phage	Eat	Macrophage is a type of white blood cell that engulfs and digests cellular debris.
Phob	Fear	Arachnophobia is a fear of spiders.
Photo	Light	A photon is a particle of light.
Phil	Love	Hydrophilic substances mix well with water.
Poly, multi	Many	A polymer is a molecule made up of many monomers.
Pseudo	false	The amoeba uses its pseudopod to capture its prey.
Sacchar	sugar	Monosaccharide is a sugar with one unit
Sub	Below	Subatomic particles are the particles that make up an atom.
Syn	Together, with	The synapse is where two neurons come together.
Tele, telo	Far, end	During telophase, the chromosomes are far apart.
Therm	Heat	Hyperthermia is the condition of having a body temperature greatly above normal.
Trans	Across	Neurotransmitters carry signals across synapses.
Vore, troph	Consume	Herbivores eat plants. Autotrophs make their own food.
Zoo	Animal	Zoology is the study of animals.