How To Understand Medical Terminology

How to Understand
Medical Terminology
Medical Transcription NC II
How to Understand
Medical Terminology
Medical Transcription NC II
When studying and using medical
terminology it is important to
understand the basic structure of
medical terms and their meanings.
In medicine all parts of a medical
term are essential to the meaning
of that term and each part of that
term has its own meaning.
When learning about language and
medical terminology, it is
worthwhile remembering that
words will contain patterns and
the more you read and become
familiar with them, the more you
will readily and easily understand
them.
It is also important to note that
not every medical term follows the
exact same pattern. Some words
have very clear derivatives
whereas others are not so distinct
in where they have evolved from.
Do not expect to see that exact
same patterns in all words.
Medical terms sometimes consist of
3 parts
a root, a prefix and a
suffix
When the three are combined
it will express the meaning of
the term. These types of words
are called constructed words
as they usually contain all
three elements i.e. prefix, root
and suffix.
1. ROOT WORD
The root of a word (known as the

word root) contains the basic
meaning (definition) of the word
often referring to a body part or
system
e.g. cardi (heart).
There may be more than one word root
in a medical term and these are often
combined with a combining vowel to
make them easier to pronounce.
2. PREFIX
A prefix may or may not be

present, but when it is used, it is
placed in front of the word to
change its meaning (pre means
before), or to identify the core
meaning of the word.
Example:
A prefix added to cardia (heart) will
identify the type of heart condition
e.g.
dextrocardia (dextro means right) so
in this case dextrodardia indicates that
the heart is on the right side of the
body, instead of the common left.
Another example:
the prefixes ‘a’ or ‘an’ are much used in
medical terminology and mean without
for example:
anaemia: an = without/lack of, aemia=
blood (anaemia= lack of blood)
anorexia: an = without, orexia pertains
to the appetite (anorexia = without
appetite).
A prefix may also
indicate a time, place,
location or status. For
example take the term
Intravenous
Intravenous meaning “within
the veins”.
Intra (the prefix) means ‘within’
ven (the word root) means vein
ous (the suffix) means
‘pertaining to’.
3. SUFFIX
A suffix is found after the word

root(s) and can also change the
meaning or function of the
word root.
*It can modify its forms to a
different part of speech (a noun,
a verb or an adjective)
*may refer to a condition,

disorder of a part of the body or
medical procedure to treat it.
For example,
itis is a very common suffix meaning
inflammation e.g. arthritis.
Another example is ectomy is another well-

known suffix that means ‘surgical removal
of’ as in appendectomy (removal of the
appendix).
COMBINING VOWEL
Combining vowels come after a

prefix or word root to help in the
pronunciation of the medical word.
The combining vowel is usually an
"o."
•
Combining vowels can also be used to combine a
word root with another word root that indicates
location.
Take the term pneumothorax as an
example.
Pneum means, air, lungs, and gas
thorax is the space in the body located between
the abdomen and the neck that includes the
lungs, the heart, and the first section of the
aorta.
So pneumothorax means
abnormal air or gas in the
pleural cavity - the cavity that
surrounds the lungs.
So the suffix thorax locates the
area of the body with the
abnormal air/gas.
Cardiovascular
Cardi=heart
Vascular=vessels containing blood
Cardiopulmonary
Cardi-heart
Pulmonary=means lungs
Cardiotomy
Cardi=heart
Otomy=incision
The ‘o’, or any combining vowel, does
not have a meaning, it is purely used to
combine the two words and make them
easier to pronounce.
Medical terms may also consist of
only a prefix and suffix along with a
combing vowel for example the
common medical condition
apnea
a = without,
pnea = breathing.
Constructed words are easy to
deconstruct and easier to learn as
each part has a meaning. Learning
the meaning of each word part first
makes it much simpler to learn and
to understand the meaning of a
medical term
Prefix, Combining Vowel, Word Root, and
Suffix Example
• Orthodontist
• Orth/o/dont/ist
• One who straightens teeth Straight/o/tooth/one
who practices
Prefix/combining vowel/word root/suffix
Example
• Electrophrenic
• Electr/o/phren/ic
• Mind and electricity Electricity/o/mind/related
to
Word root/combining vowel/suffix
• Angiogram
• Angi/o/gram
• Picture of blood vessel Blood vessel/o/picture
• Gastrologist
• Gastro/o/logist
• One who studies stomach Stomach/o/one who
studies
PREFIXES Meaning
component meaning example
AN-, A- without / lack of anaemia = lack of red blood cells
AB- away from abnormal = away from the normal
adrenal gland = gland near to the

AD- near / toward
kidney
bilateral Wilm's = tumour in both

BI- two / both
kidneys
DYS- difficult / painful dysfunction = not working properly

PREFIXES Meaning
ectopic pregnancy = outside the uterine

ECTO- outside
cavity
endoscope = an instrument to look inside the

ENDO- inside
body cavities or organs
EPI- upon epidermis = the outer layer of skin
hyperglycaemia = excessive blood sugar

HYPER- excessive / above
levels
HYPO- beneath / below hypodermic = injection below the skin

PREFIXES Meaning
INTER- between intercostal = between the ribs
INTRA- within / Inside intravenous = into a vein
parathyroid = beside the thyroid

PARA- beside, about, near
gland
pericardium = membrane around

PERI- around
the heart
PRE- before prenatal = before birth

PREFIXES Meaning
post surgical stage = stage

POST- after
after surgery
submucosa = tissue below

SUB- under / below
mucus membrane
syndrome = group of
SYN- together with
symptoms occurring together
SUFFIXES Meaning
component meaning example
-AEMIA condition of blood leukaemia = cancer of blood cells
nephrectomy = excision of a
-ECTOMY excision / removal
kidney
hepatitis = inflammation of the

-ITIS inflammation
liver
-OLOGY study / science of cytology = the study of cells

SUFFIXES Meaning
retinoblastoma = tumour of the

-OMA tumour
eye
neuropathy = disease of the

-PATHY disease
nervous system
-OSIS disease /condition necrosis = dying cells

WORD ROOT Meaning
COMPONENT MEANING EXAMPLE
blastoma = a cancer made of

BLAST- germ, immature cell
immature cells
CARCIN- cancer carcinogenic = cancer causing
cardiotoxicity = toxicity to the

CARDIO- heart
heart
CYTO- cell cytotoxic = toxic to the cell
dermatitis = inflammation of the

DERMA- skin
skin
WORD ROOT Meaning
HISTIO- tissue histology = study of tissue
HEPATI- liver hepatoblastoma = liver cancer
MALIGN- bad / harmful malignant = growing, spreading
nephrotoxic = harmful to the

NEPHRO- kidney
kidneys
neurob1ast = an immature
NEURO- nerves
nerve cell
WORD ROOT Meaning
ONCO- mass / tumour oncology = the study of cancer
OSTEO- bone / bony tissue osteosarcoma = bone cancer
paediatric oncology = study of

PAED- child
childhood cancer
sarcoma = tumour of bone,

SARCO- tissue
muscle, or connective tissue
TOXO- poison toxicology = study of poisons

REREFERNCES
http://www.cancerindex.org/medterm/medtm4.htm

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How to Understand

The root of a word (known as the

A prefix may or may not be

A suffix is found after the word

*may refer to a condition,

Another example is ectomy is another well-

Combining vowels come after a

component meaning example

AN-, A- without / lack of anaemia = lack of red blood cells

AB- away from abnormal = away from the normal

adrenal gland = gland near to the

bilateral Wilm's = tumour in both

DYS- difficult / painful dysfunction = not working properly

ectopic pregnancy = outside the uterine

endoscope = an instrument to look inside the

EPI- upon epidermis = the outer layer of skin

hyperglycaemia = excessive blood sugar

HYPO- beneath / below hypodermic = injection below the skin

INTER- between intercostal = between the ribs

INTRA- within / Inside intravenous = into a vein

parathyroid = beside the thyroid

pericardium = membrane around

PRE- before prenatal = before birth

post surgical stage = stage

submucosa = tissue below

component meaning example

-AEMIA condition of blood leukaemia = cancer of blood cells

hepatitis = inflammation of the

-OLOGY study / science of cytology = the study of cells

retinoblastoma = tumour of the

neuropathy = disease of the

-OSIS disease /condition necrosis = dying cells

COMPONENT MEANING EXAMPLE

blastoma = a cancer made of

CARCIN- cancer carcinogenic = cancer causing

cardiotoxicity = toxicity to the

CYTO- cell cytotoxic = toxic to the cell

dermatitis = inflammation of the

HISTIO- tissue histology = study of tissue

HEPATI- liver hepatoblastoma = liver cancer

MALIGN- bad / harmful malignant = growing, spreading

nephrotoxic = harmful to the

ONCO- mass / tumour oncology = the study of cancer

OSTEO- bone / bony tissue osteosarcoma = bone cancer

paediatric oncology = study of

sarcoma = tumour of bone,

TOXO- poison toxicology = study of poisons

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