Medical Terminology

Composition of Terms: Most medical terms from Greek or Latin origins.
Why Greek and Latin? Considered "dead" languages (Don’t evolve) ensuring consistency in terminology.

Prefix: A small component added to beginning of term.
Stem: The core element that encapsulates the essential meaning of the term; it can stand alone with its own meaning.
Suffix: An affix placed at end of a stem word that changes its meaning.

PREFIX	DEFINITION	EXAMPLE	MEANING OF EXAMPLE
a-, an	without	anuria	lack of urine output
ab-	away from	abduct	move away from midline
ad-	toward	adduct	move toward midline
ante-	before	antepartum	before labor starts
anti-	against	antidote	substance that counteracts toxins
bi-	two	bilateral	on both sides of body
brachi(o)-	arm	brachialgia	pain in arm

PREFIX	DEFINITION	EXAMPLE	MEANING OF EXAMPLE
cyt-	cell	cytology	study of cells
dys-	bad, difficult	dyspnea	difficult breathing
ect-, ecto-	outside of	ectoparasite	parasite living outside host
endo-	within, inside	endoscopy	examination of interior of body
epi-	upon	epidermis	outer skin layer
erythro-	red	erythrocyte	red blood cell
ex-, exo-	out of	extracellular	occurring outside the cells
hyper-	too much	hyperthermia	elevated body temperature
hypo-	below, under	hypothermia	decreased body temperature
inter-	between	interstitial	between parts of tissue

PREFIX	DEFINITION	EXAMPLE	MEANING OF EXAMPLE
intra-	within	intravenous	within a vein
leuko-	white	leukocyte	white blood cell
macro-	large	macroscopic	observable without microscope
micro-	small	microscopic	observable only with microscope
myo-	muscle	myocardial	pertaining to heart muscle
neo-	new, recent	neoplasm	any new/abnormal growth
olig(o)-	few, little	oliguria	low urine output
poly-	many	polyuria	large volume of urine
post-	after	post-mortem	after death
pre-	before	preanesthetic	before anesthesia
sub-	under	subcutaneous	under the skin
uni-	one	unilateral	affecting one side
zoo-	of animal	zoonosis	disease transmitted from animals to humans

STEM	DEFINITION	EXAMPLE	MEANING OF EXAMPLE
adipo-	fat	adipose	fat tissue
arteri-	of artery	arteriosclerosis	thickening of artery
arthr(o)	joint	arthroscopy	scope inserted in a joint
blephar(o)	eyelid	blepharospasm	twitches of eyelid
brady	slow	bradycardia	slow heart rate
cardi(o)	heart	cardiology	study of heart
cephalo-	head	brachycephalic	short-nosed/flat-faced
enter(o)-	intestine	enteritis	inflammation of intestines
gastro-	stomach	gastritis	inflammation of stomach
hemo(a)-	blood	hematology	study of blood
hepat(o)-	liver	hepatitis	inflammation of liver
hist-	tissue	histology	study of tissue
necro-	death	necropsy	examination after death
nephro-	kidney	nephritis	inflammation of kidneys
neur/o-	nerve	neuritis	inflammation of nerve
ophthalmo	eye	ophthalmoscope	instrument used to examine eye
oste(o)	bone	osteitis	inflammation of bones
oto-	ear	otoscope	instrument for ear examination
path(o)-	disease	pathology	study of diseases
phleb(o)-	vein	phlebitis	inflammation of veins
pneum(o)-	lung	pneumonia	inflammation of lungs
rhino-	nose	rhinopathy	any disease of nose

SUFFIX	DEFINITION	EXAMPLE	MEANING OF EXAMPLE
algia	pain	neuralgia	pain along nerves
blast	immature cell	osteoblast	immature bone cell
cide	kill	bactericide	substance that kills bacteria
cyte	cell	leukocyte	white blood cell
ectomy	surgical removal	nephrectomy	removal of kidney
emesis	vomiting	hematemesis	vomiting blood
itis	inflammation	colitis	inflammation of colon
logist	one who studies	cardiologist	doctor specializing in heart issues
lys(i)	destruction	hemolysis	destruction of red blood cells
malacia	softening	osteomalacia	softening of bone
ology	study of	biology	study of life
oma	tumor	lipoma	fatty tumor
pathy	disease	myopathy	muscle disease
uria	urine	hematuria	blood in urine

Acute: Having short duration and relatively severe condition
Alopecia: Loss of hair.
Anemia: Condition in which blood is deficient in hemoglobin/red blood cells (RBCs).
Anorexia: Lack/loss of appetite.
Atrophy: Decrease in size or wasting away of body part.
Chronic: Condition of long duration (Opposed to acute)

Taxonomy Definition: The science of classification (Greek “-tax”: Arrange/order/classify & “-onomy”: The science of).