Med term

1. Introduction to Medical Terminology

Medical terminology is the language of medicine.

  • Categories of Medical Terms:

    • Terms made from word parts

    • Terms not made from word parts

    • Eponyms

  • Combining Vowel: The letter O is the most common combining vowel.

2. Word Roots and Combining Forms

  • Abdomen & Digestive System:

    • abdomin/o: Abdomen

    • chole: Gall or bile

    • enter/o: Small intestine

    • gastr/o: Stomach

    • hepat/o: Liver

  • Cardiovascular & Hematology:

    • angi/o: Vessel or duct

    • arteri/o: Artery

    • cardi/o: Heart

    • hem/o / hemat/o: Blood

  • Musculoskeletal System:

    • arthr/o: Joint

    • my/o: Muscle

    • myel/o: Spinal cord or bone marrow

    • oste/o: Bone

  • Integumentary System (Skin & Nails):

    • cutane/o / derm/o / dermat/o: Skin

    • hidr/o: Sweat

    • ichthy/o: Fishlike or scaly

    • icter/o: Jaundice

    • kerat/o: Hard

    • onych/o / ungu/o: Nail

    • rhytid/o: Wrinkle

    • seb/o: Oil

    • xer/o: Dry

  • Other Systemic Roots:

    • cauter/o: To burn

    • cry/o: Cold

    • laryng/o: Voice box or larynx

    • lith/o: Stone

    • myc/o: Fungus

    • nat/o: Birth or born

    • necr/o: Death

    • nephr/o: Kidney

    • neur/o: Nerve

    • path/o: Disease

    • py/o: Pus

    • rhin/o: Nose

3. Prefixes

  • Qualitative & Descriptive Prefixes:

    • a- / an-: Not or without

    • albino: White

    • cyano-: Blue

    • erythro-: Red

    • hyper-: Increase or excessive

    • hypo-: Decrease or low

    • leuko-: White

    • melano-: Black

    • pachy-: Thick

  • Temporal & Positional Prefixes:

    • endo-: Within

    • neo-: New

    • peri-: Around

    • post-: After

    • pre-: Before

4. Suffixes

  • Surgical & Diagnostic Suffixes:

    • -centesis: Puncture to remove fluid

    • -ectomy: Surgical removal

    • -gram: Written record or image

    • -ography: Procedure to record

    • -ostomy: Creation of a more or less permanent opening

    • -otomy: Incision into

    • -plasty: Surgical repair

    • -scope: Instrument used to examine

    • -scopy: Examination of

  • Surgical Suffix Distinctions:

    • -ectomy: Removal of

    • -otomy: Incision into

    • -ostomy: Creation of an opening

  • Pathological & Functional Suffixes:

    • -algia: Pain

    • -cyte: Cell

    • -emesis: Vomiting

    • -emia: Blood

    • -itis: Inflammation

    • -malacia: Softening

    • -megaly: Enlargement

    • -necrosis: Death

    • -ology: Study of

    • -ologist: Specialist or one who studies

    • -opathy: Disease of

    • -osis: Condition

    • -rrhage / -rrhagia: Bursting forth

    • -rrhea: Flow or discharge

    • -sclerosis: Hardening of

5. Medical Terms & Definitions

  • Diagnostic Concepts:

    • Diagnosis: Determining the nature of a condition or disease.

    • Prognosis: Predicting the outcome of a condition or disease.

    • Congenital: Born with.

  • Cardiovascular & Hematological Conditions:

    • Atherosclerosis: Hardening due to buildup of fatty plaque.

    • Cardiomegaly: Enlargement of the heart.

    • Cardiomyopathy: Disease of the heart muscle.

    • Cyanosis: Blue discoloration of the skin.

    • Erythrocyte: Red blood cell.

    • Hypertension: High blood pressure.

    • Hypotension: Low blood pressure.

    • Leukocyte: White blood cell.

    • Leukocytosis: Increase in white blood cells.

    • Myocarditis: Inflammation of the heart muscle.

  • Musculoskeletal Conditions:

    • Arthralgia: Joint pain.

    • Arthritis: Inflammation of a joint.

    • Arthroscope: Instrument used to examine a joint.

    • Arthroscopy: Examination of a joint.

    • Hemarthrosis: Bleeding into a joint.

    • Myalgia: Muscle pain.

    • Osteomalacia: Softening of bone.

    • Osteonecrosis: Bone death.

  • Dermatological Conditions:

    • Dermatitis: Inflammation of the skin.

    • Diaphoretic: Heavy sweating of the whole body usually due to an underlying condition, medication, or infection.

    • Hyperhidrosis: Chronic, excessive, unpredictable sweating usually due to overactive sweat glands.

    • Ichthyosis: Inherited dry, scaly, rough skin.

    • Onychomalacia: Softening of the nail.

    • Onychophagia: Nail biting.

    • Pachyderma: Abnormal thickening of the skin.

    • Paronychia: Inflammation around a nail.

    • Rhytidectomy: Removal of wrinkles (facelift).

    • Scleroderma: Autoimmune disorder where the skin and internal organs harden due to excessive collagen.

    • Seborrhea: Oily discharge of the skin causing a red, scaly, itchy rash.

    • Subcutaneous: Under the skin.

    • Subungual: Under the nail.

    • Xeroderma: Dry skin.

  • Other Clinical Terms:

    • Cryotherapy: Treatment using localized freezing.

    • Hematemesis: Vomiting blood.

    • Hepatitis: Inflammation of the liver.

    • Hepatomegaly: Enlargement of the liver.

    • Mycosis: Fungal condition.

    • Neuralgia: Nerve pain.

    • Rhinorrhea: Nasal discharge.

6. Tissue Grafts

  • Autograft: Tissue transplanted from one point to another on the same person's body (uses tissue from your own body).

  • Allograft / Homograft: Transplant from a genetically non-identical donor of the same species.

  • Xenograft / Heterograft: Tissue transplanted from another species (e.g., pig valve transplanted into a human).