CHAPTER 6

-ALGIA = pain

-CARCINOMA = cancer

-ECTOMY = to cut out

-EMESIS = vomiting

-LITHIASIS = formation, presence of stones

-OSIS = process, state, condition; usually abnormal

-PEPSIA = digestion

-PHAGIA = eating, swallowing

-PLASTY = surgical repair

-PTYSIS = spitting

-RRHAGE, -RRHAGIA = bursting forth (of blood)

-RRHAPHY = suture

-RRHEA = flow, discharge

-SCOPY = instrument used to do visual exam

-SPASM = involuntary contraction of muscles

-STATIS = stopping, controlling

-STENOSIS = narrowing, tightening

-STOMY = surgical opening

-TRESIA = opening ATRESIA = absence of normal opening

TOM/O = cutting

BAR/O = weight

IATR/O = treatment

DON’T CONFUSE ;

DYSPHAGIA = difficulty swallowing

DYSPLASIA = abnormal formation

DYSPHASIA = abnormal speech

(Plas/o = formation) , (Phas/o = speech)

HEMOPTYSIS – spitting up blood from the respiratory tract, a sign of bleeding and disease in the bronchial tubes or lungs.

HEMATEMESIS – vomiting blood, a sign of bleeding in the upper part of the gastrointestinal tract.

SUFFIX -RRHEA (used to indicate flow or discharge of various substances)

·       Rhinorrhea = mucus from nose

·       Menorrhea = menstrual (men/o) blood from uterine lining

·       Leukorrhea = white, yellowish fluid from the vagina

STENOSIS – comes from the Greek meaning “narrowing” sometimes called stricture. Used as a term in the gastrointestinal system to describe stenosis are

·       Arterial Stenosis

·       Heart Valve “ “

·       Spinal “ “

·       Tracheal “ “

Polyphagia – excessive appetite, uncontrolled eating

Pylorospasm – involuntary contraction of the pylorus (duodenum)

Cholestasis – flow of bile from the liver to the duodenum

Pyloric Stenosis – congenital defect in new borns blocking food from small intestines

Herniorraphy – surgical repair (stitching/suture) of a hernia

Examples of suffixes used alone as a separate term;

Emesis (emetic) = an emesis basin is a kidney shaped container by a hospital bed to collect vomit. If someone swallows poison the doctor may give a drug to induce emesis (vomiting). An emetic is a strong solution (ipecac syrup) used to induce vomiting.

Spasm = eating spicy foods can lead to a “spasm” of gastric sphincters

Stasis = overgrowth of bacteria in the small intestine can cause stasis of intestinal contents

Stenosis = projectile vomiting in an infant during feeding is a sign of “pyloric stenosis”

Celiac Disease = damage to lining of small intestine due to a reaction from eating gluten

Cheilosis – scales/fissures on the lips from vitamin B2 deficiency (thiamine)

LAP (laparoscopic) colectomy = alternative to a “colectomy” to open and remove nonmetastatic colorectal carcinomas

Gastrostomy = also called G tube or “button”, one type is PEG (percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy) tube, which is inserted (laparoscopically) through the abdomen into stomach to deliver food when swallowing is impossible.

Palatoplasty = also called “palatorrhaphy”; a procedure that corrects cleft (split) palate, which is a congenital anomaly.

Splenic Flexure = downward bend in the transverse colon near the spleen

Hepatic Flexure = bend in the transverse colon near the liver

Glycogen – a form of sugar stored in the liver

Pancreatoduodenectomy (pancreaticoduodenectomy) = is a Whipple procedure, a surgical treatment for pancreatic cancer.

LAB TESTS

1.  LIPASE TEST = test for the level of lipase (enzyme to digest fat) in the blood

2.    LIVER FUNCTION TESTS (LFTs) = test for presence of enzymes and bilirubin in the blood.

Examples;

·       ALT (alanine transaminase) or AST (aspartate transaminase) = enzymes present in many tissues. Levels are elevated in the serum (clear fluid that remains after blood has clotted) of patients with liver disease.

·       Alkaline Phosphatase (ALK PHOS) = another enzyme that may be elevated in patients with liver/bone and other diseases.

·       Serum Bilirubin = levels would be elevated in patients with liver disease and jaundice

·       DIRECT BILIRUBIN TEST = measures conjugated bilirubin, high levels indicate liver disease or biliary obstruction

·       INDIRECT BILIRUBIN TEST = measures unconjugated bilirubin, high levels suggested excessive hemolysis, as may occur in a newborn

3.    STOOL CULTURE = test for microorganisms in feces, placed in a growth medium and examined microscopically

4.    STOOL GUALAC TEST or HEMOCCULT TEST = test to detect occult (hidden) blood in feces – important screening for colon cancer.

GUALAC = is a chemical found in wood from trees, when added to any stool sample it will react to any blood present in feces.