Origin of medical terminology: Many medical terms are derived from Greek or Latin.
Medical terms are made up of three main branches: Prefixes, suffixes and root of words.
Prefix: comes before the main part of the word. By recognising the meaning of the prefix, one can identify the meaning of the word.
Example: Post means after
Post/natal: after birth
Suffixes: come at the end of the word to form a new word usually, in medical terminology to indicate word definition.
Example: itis: inflammation of
Appendi/citis: inflammation of the appendix
Root of the word: is the basic component of the word
Example: pulmon: lung
Combining vowels: Often it is difficult to pronounce combination of roots of the word particularly when the root ends in a consonant and the other root starts with a consonant. For this reason, it is necessary to insert a
combining vowel.
Examples:
gastr/o/scopy: stomach/o/Looking into
Lapar/o/scopy: looking into the abdomen
therm/o/meter
Pronunciation: It may be easier to break the word down into syllables and say them a few times to practise the best pronunciation particularly when the word is made up of a few components.
Example:
Oseteo/arthr/o/pathy: disease of the bones and joints
Abbreviations: They are definitions for the abbreviated words.
Example: ICU: Intensive Care Unit
Operative terminology: The terms which refer to operations and medical procedures.
Example:
Colostomy: opening of the colon
Diagnostic terminology: It is terminology that refers to the diagnostic condition or the current illness
Example:
Prostitis: inflammation of the prostate
Symptomatic terminology: The terms that refer to the patients’ signs and symptoms.
Example:
Shortness of breath, palpitation.
Acronyms: An acronym is made up of the initial letters of words in a phrase.
Examples:
HIV: human immunodeficiency
MS: Multiple sclerosis
ENT: ear, nose, and throat specialist
Eponyms: Proper names derived from a person’s name to refer to a particular disease or a medical condition.
Examples:
Parkinson’s disease.
Down syndrome
Some common Acronyms:
BP: blood pressure
CAT scan: computerised axial tomography
CCU: coronary care unit
DNA: deoxyribonucleic acid
ECG: electro cardio gram/graph
MSU: mid stream urine
UTI: urinary tract infection
Some Common Prefixes:
a (n): without anaemia: lack of blood
ab (s): away from abnormal: not normal
ad: toward adrenal: near the kidney
albu:white
anykle: bent, crooked
ambi: both ambidexterous: ability to use both hands
an: without, absence of
ante: before, forwards antecubital: before the elbow
anti: against, opposite antiseptic: against infection
auto: self autoanalysis: self analysis
bi: double, twice bifocal: two focal
brady: slow bradycardia: slow heart beat
brachy: short brachdactylia: short fingers
con: together
circum: around circumflex:winding around
carcino: cancer forming carcinogenic: cancer forming
com: with, together
cryo: cold
cyan: blue
contra: against contraception: prevention of conception
costo: ribs
copr/o: faeces
chrom/o: colour of pigment
cyst: bladder
di (s): two
de: down from decay: break down
dia: thorogh, complete diaphragm: wall across
demi: half
dis: to undo disinfection: free from infection
dys: bad, abnormal dysuria: painful urination
dextro: right
dy: two
ec: outside ectopic pregnancy: out of place
en/em: in
epi: upon
erythro: red
endo: within
eso: inward
eu: normal, well
ex: outside
extra: in addition, outside, beyond
hapto: bind to
hemi: half
hept: sevn
hetero: different
homo: same as
hyper: high, excessive hyperglycaemia: high blood sugar
hypo: low, deficient hypoglycaemia: low blood sugar
im: not, into, in
in: not, into, in involuntary: not voluntary
infra: among, between
inter: between
intra: within, inside, during intravenous: inside the veins
intro: into, within introversion: turning inward
iso: equal, the same
juxta: adjacent to
Kin: movement
Later: side, relating to
Leuko: white leukocyte: white blood cells
Lepto: thin
Mania: madness
Melan: black
Macro: large
Mal: bad malfunction: bad function
Micro: small microbe: small organism
Medi: middle
Mega: large
Megalo: abnormal enlargement
Meta: after, beyond
Multi: many
Necro: dead
Neo: new neonatal: newborn
Non: not
Ob: before, against
Octo: eight
Ortho: straight, normal
Oligo: few
Oxy: sharp, quick
Para: beside, to the side
Pachy: thick Pachyderma: abnormal thick skin
Pan: all
Per: through, excessive
Peri: around peripheral:
Peri: around
Platy: flat, wide
Polio: grey
Presby: old, elderly
Pro: before
Post: behind, after postoperative: after surgery
Poly: many, much polycystic: many cysts
Pre: before, infron
Pseudo: false, fake
Re: again, contrary
Rub: red
Retro: behind
Schiz: divide, split Schizophrenia: split personality
Sclero: hard
Supra: upon, over
Semi: half
Sex: six
Sept: seven
Sub: under, below
Super: above, addition, over
Sym: together, joined
Tachy: fast, rapid tachycardia: fast heart beat
Tetra: four
Thalamo: thalamus (brain)
Therm: heat
Thymo: thymus
Thyro: throid gland
Trans: through, across
Tropho: nutrition
Tri: three
Tympano: eardrum
Ule/ulo: scars
Uni: one
Ultra: beyond, excess ultrasound: beyond the upper level of human hearing
Urano/uran: palate
Veno: pertaining to a vein venotomy: surgical opening of a vein
Ventriculo: heart or brain ventricle
Ventro: ventral, abdomen
Vesico: urinary bladder
Xantho: yellow colour
Xeno: different, foreign
Xero: dry
Zygo: union, fusion Zygocyte: union of cells.
