Medical Terminology Quick Reference (Chapter 1)
- 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
- neur/o: nerve
- ophthalm/o: eye
- ot/o: ear
- path/o: disease
- pulmon/o: lung
- rhin/o: nose
Common Prefixes (1 of 6)
- a-: without
- an-: without
- anti-: against
- auto-: self
- brady-: slow
- de-: without
Common Prefixes (2 of 6)
- dys-: painful, difficult, abnormal
- endo-: within, inner
- epi-: above
- eu-: normal
- ex-: outward
- extra-: outside of
Common Prefixes (3 of 6)
- hetero-: different
- homo-: same
- hyper-: excessive
- hypo-: below, insufficient
- in-: not, inward
- inter-: between
- intra-: within
Common Prefixes (4 of 6)
- macro-: large
- micro-: small
- neo-: new
- para-: beside, abnormal, two like parts of a pair
- per-: through
Common Prefixes (5 of 6)
- peri-: around
- post-: after
- pre-: before
- pro-: before
- pseudo-: false
- re-: again
- retro-: backward, behind
- sub-: under
Common Prefixes (6 of 6)
- tachy-: fast
- trans-: across
- ultra-: beyond
- un-: not
Number Prefixes (1 of 2)
- bi-: two
- hemi-: half
- mono-: one
- multi-: many
- nulli-: none
- pan-: all
Number Prefixes (2 of 2)
- poly-: many
- quadri-: four
- semi-: partial, half
- tetra-: four
- tri-: three
Common Suffixes (1 of 5)
- -algia: pain
- -cele: protrusion
- -cyte: cell
- -dynia: pain
- -ectasis: dilation
- -gen: that which produces
- -genic: producing
Common Suffixes (2 of 5)
- -ia: condition
- -iasis: abnormal condition
- -ism: state of
- -itis: inflammation
- -logist: one who studies
- -logy: study of
Common Suffixes (3 of 5)
- -lytic: destruction
- -malacia: abnormal softening
- -megaly: enlarged
- -oma: tumor, mass
- -opsy: view of
- -osis: abnormal condition
- -pathy: disease
Common Suffixes (4 of 5)
- -plasm: formation
- -plegia: paralysis
- -ptosis: drooping
- -rrhage: abnormal flow
- -rrhagia: abnormal flow condition
- -rrhea: discharge
- -rrhexis: rupture
- -sclerosis: hardening
Common Suffixes (5 of 5)
- -stenosis: narrowing
- -therapy: treatment
- -trophy: development
Adjective Suffixes
- -ac
- -al
- -an
- -ar
- -ary
- -atic
- -eal
- -iac
- -ic
- -ical
- -ile
- -ine
- -ior
- -nic
- -ory
- -ose
- -ous
- -tic
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
Procedural Suffixes
- -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
- -a → vertebra → vertebrae
- -ax → thorax → thoraces
- -ex or -ix → appendix → appendices
- -is → metastasis → metastases
- -ma → sarcoma → sarcomata
- -nx → phalanx → phalanges
- -on → ganglion → ganglia
- -us → nucleus → nuclei
- -um → ovum → ova
- -y → biopsy → biopsies
