SM

Suffixes (Chapter 3)

Suffixes Overview

  • Suffixes are divided into two groups:

    • Diagnostic suffixes describe disease conditions or their symptoms

    • Procedural suffixes describe procedures used in patient care

Diagnostic Suffixes

  • 1 of 5

    • -algia: Pain

    • -emia: Blood condition

    • -ia: Condition

  • 2 of 5

    • -itis: Inflammation

    • -megaly: Enlargement

    • -oma: Tumor, mass

  • 3 of 5

    • -osis: Condition, abnormal condition

    • -pathy: Disease condition

  • 4 of 5

    • -rrhea: Flow, discharge

    • -rrhage: Excessive

    • -rrhagia: Discharge of blood

  • 5 of 5

    • -sclerosis: Hardening

    • -uria: Condition of urine

Adjective Suffixes

  • Each of these means “pertaining to”

    • -al or -eal

    • -ar

    • -ary

    • -ic

Procedural Suffixes

  • 1 of 5

    • -centesis: Puncture to remove fluid

    • -ectomy: Removal, resection, excision

  • 2 of 5

    • -gram: Record

    • -graphy: Process of recording

  • 3 of 5

    • -lysis: Separation, breakdown, destruction

    • -plasty: Surgical repair or surgical correction

  • 4 of 5

    • -scopy: Process of visual examination

    • -stomy: Opening

  • 5 of 5

    • -therapy: Treatment

    • -tomy: Incision, to cut into

Medical Scramble Questions 1-3

  • Suffix meaning enlargement: G A Y M L E → -megaly

  • Suffix meaning separation, breakdown: S Y S I L → -lysis

  • Holding back blood from an area of the body: H A S E I M I C → ischemia

Medical Scramble Questions 4-6

  • Ear pain: T A I L O G A → otalgia

  • Benign tumor of muscle: Y M O A M → myoma

  • Sharp, sudden, severe: T U E C A → acute

Medical Scramble Bonus Term

  • Tumor of bone marrow (affects multiple areas of bone marrow tissue): Y L M O A M E → myeloma

Real-world relevance and connections

  • Understanding diagnostic suffixes helps interpret medical records and literature by signaling disease conditions or symptoms (e.g., -algia indicates pain, -itis indicates inflammation).

  • Adjective suffixes (-al, -ar, -ic, etc.) clarify whether a term describes a condition or characteristic (e.g., dermatologic relates to skin).

  • Procedural suffixes describe actions or procedures, aiding comprehension of clinical procedures (e.g., -ectomy for removal, -centesis for puncture, -scopy for visual examination).

  • Scramble terms reinforce spelling, pronunciation, and meaning of common suffixes, supporting faster term recognition in real clinical settings.

  • The set of terms connects to foundational principles of medical terminology: building meaning from roots and standardized suffixes to interpret unfamiliar terms quickly.