3. Essential Prefixes Flashcards
1
Q
mono-, uni-
A
- one
2
Q
bi-, di-
A
- two
3
Q
tri-
A
- three
4
Q
quad-, quadri-, tetra-
A
- four
5
Q
centi-
A
one hundred, one-hundredth
6
Q
milli-
A
one-thousandth
7
Q
diplo-
A
double
8
Q
hemi-, semi-
A
half, partly
9
Q
hyper-
A
excessive, more than normal
10
Q
hypo-
A
under, less than normal
11
Q
multi-, poly-
A
many
12
Q
nulli-
A
none
13
Q
pan-
A
all
14
Q
primi-
A
first
15
Q
super-, ultra-
A
excessive
16
Q
ab-
A
away from.
Abduct means to carry away by force or to draw away from a given position.
17
Q
ad-
A
toward
In drug addiction (now called chemical dependency), one is “drawn toward” a habit-forming drug. In other words, one has a compulsive physiologic need for a certain drug.
18
Q
ante-, pre-
A
before in time or in place
An anteroom is an outer room that is generally entered before a more important room.
Prerenal pertains to the area in front of (literally, “before in place”) the kidney.
19
Q
circum-, peri-
A
around
The perimeter is the outer boundary or the line that is drawn around the outside of an area. The circumference is the line that is drawn around a circle.
20
Q
contra-
A
against or opposed
Contralateral means affecting the opposite side.
21
Q
dia-
A
through
The diameter passes through the center of a circle.
22
Q
ecto-, ex-, exo-, extra-
A
outside, without, away from
To export is to carry or send away to another place.
The skeletons of some animals, such as insects, are on the outer surface and are called exoskeletons.
Extranuclear means outside a nucleus.
23
Q
en-, end-, endo-
A
inside
Enclose means to close up inside something, hold in, or include. Endotracheal means within the trachea.
24
Q
epi-
A
above, on
An epitaph is often inscribed on the tombstone or above the grave of the person buried there.
25
hypo-, infra-, sub-
beneath, under
Hypodermic means pertaining to the area below the skin.
A subcutaneous injection places a small amount of medication below the skin layer into the subcutaneous tissue.
Four types of hypodermic injections are shown in Fig. 3.5.
26
inter-
between
An interval is a space of time between events.
27
intra-
within
Intracollegiate activities are those within a college or engaged in by members of a college. See Fig. 3.5 for explanations of the terms intramuscular, intradermal, and intravenous.
28
ipsi-
same
Ipsilateral means pertaining to or affecting the same side of the body. (Compare with contralateral, Fig. 3.6).
29
meso-, mid-
middle
The mesoderm is the middle of three tissue layers that form during the development of an embryo.
30
para-
near, beside, or abnormal
Two parallel lines run beside each other.
31
per-
through or by
To perspire is to excrete fluid through the pores of the skin. Permeable means allowing certain substances to pass through.
32
post-
after, behind
To postdate is to assign a date to something after the date it actually occurred, such as when one postdates a check. Postnasal means behind the nose.
33
retro-
behind, backward
Retroactive means extending back to a prior time or condition.
Retrospection means looking backward in time or surveying the past.
34
super-, supra-
above, beyond
Superficial means on or near the surface (Fig. 3.7).
Suprarenal pertains to a location above each kidney.
35
sym-, syn-
joined, together
A syndrome is a set of symptoms that occur together and collectively characterize a particular disease or condition.
In symbiosis, two organisms of different species beneficially coexist.
36
trans-
across
A transdermal drug is one that can be absorbed through (or across) unbroken skin, such as the nitroglycerin patch to relieve angina pectoris, chest pain caused by heart disease (Fig. 3.8).
37
anti-, contra-
against
An antiperspirant acts against perspiration.
A contraceptive acts against or prevents conception (the beginning of pregnancy). Contralateral means affecting the opposite side (see Fig. 3.6).
(The i in anti- is sometimes dropped before a vowel.)
38
brady-
slow
Bradycardia means a decreased pulse rate, but its literal translation is “a slow heart condition” (Fig. 3.9).
39
dys-
bad, difficult, disordered
Reading is very difficult when one has dyslexia. This disorder is thought to be an inability to organize written symbols.
40
eu-
good, normal
Euthanasia is “mercy killing,” thought by some to be a good, painless death when a person has a terminal, intolerably painful condition.
41
mal-
bad, abnormal
Maladjusted means poorly or badly adjusted.
42
pro-
favoring, supporting
To prolong is to make something longer; in other words, to support making it longer.
43
tachy-
fast
Tachycardia means an increased pulse rate, but its literal translation is “a fast heart condition” (see Fig. 3.9).
44
ante-, pre-, pro-
before
Antepartum means before childbirth.
Premarital means existing or occurring before marriage.
Proactive involves taking action before an anticipated event or occurrence.
45
post-
after or behind
Postpartum means after childbirth.
46
macro-, mega-, megalo-
large or great
Macroscopic structures are large enough to be seen by the naked eye.
A megadose is a dose that greatly exceeds the usual prescribed amount.
Megalomania is an abnormal mental state characterized by delusions of greatness.
47
micro-
small
A microscope is used to view very small objects.
48
a-, an-
no, not, without
Rule: Use a- before a consonant. Use an- before a vowel and often the letter h.
Asymptomatic means without symptoms.
Anesthesia means without feeling.
49
in-
not or inside (in)
Inconsistent means not consistent. Inhale means “to breathe in.”
50
non-
not
A noncancerous tumor is not malignant.
51
alb/o, albin/o, leuk/o (leuc/o)
white
An albino is an individual with congenital absence of pigment in the skin, hair, and eyes. The skin and hair appear white because of lack of pigment (Fig. 3.12). The Latin term alba means white.
Leukemia is a malignant disease of the blood-forming organs characterized by a marked increase in the number of leukocytes (white blood cells), including immature leukocytes.
52
chlor/o
green
Chlorophyll is the green pigment contained in chloroplasts in the leaves of plants and is the reason that plants are green.
53
cyan/o
blue
Deficiency of oxygen in the blood can cause a condition called cyanosis, a slightly bluish, slatelike skin discoloration (Fig. 3.13).
54
erythr/o
red
Erythrocytes are red blood cells.
55
melan/o
black
A melancholy person is sad. In ancient times, people thought the bodies of melancholy persons produced a black bile that caused sadness. A melanoma is a malignant skin cancer (see Fig. 2.7, B).
56
xanth/o
yellow
Xanthophyll is a yellow pigment in plants.
A condition called jaundice is often associated with a yellow appearance in the patient; however, it is derived from French and does not use xanth/o as a combining form. Jaundice is characterized by a yellowish discoloration of the skin (Fig. 3.14), mucous membranes, and white outer part of the eyeballs.
57
CF: cyt/o
Suffixes:
-cyte
cell
58
CF: gen/o
Suffixes:
-genic
-genesis
beginning, origin (sometimes genes)
produced by or in
producing or forming
59
CF: gram/o
Suffixes:
-gram
-graph
-graphy
to record
a record
instrument for recording
process of recording
60
CF: kinesi/o
Suffixes:
-kinesia, -kinesis
movement, motion
61
CF: leps/o
Suffixes:
-lepsy
seizure
62
CF: lys/o
Suffixes:
-lysin
-lysis
-lytic*
destruction, dissolving
that which destroys
process of destroying
capable of or producing destruction
63
CF: malac/o
Suffixes:
-malacia
soft, softening
abnormal softening
64
CF: megal/o
Suffixes:
-megaly
large, enlarged
enlargement
65
CF: metr/o
Suffixes:
-meter
-metry
measure, uterine tissue
instrument used to measure
process of measuring
66
CF: path/o
Suffixes:
-pathy
disease
67
CF: phag/o
Suffixes:
-phagia, -phagic, -phagy
eat, ingest
eating, swallowing
68
phas/o
-phasia
speech
v
69
CF: pleg/o
Suffixes:
-plegia
paralysis
70
CF: schis/o, schiz/o, schist/o
Suffixes:
-schisis
split, cleft
71
CF: scler/o
Suffixes:
-sclerosis
hard
hardening
72
CF: pleg/o
Suffixes:
73
CF: scop/o
Suffixes:
-scope
-scopy
to examine, to view
instrument used for viewing
process of examining visually
74
CF: troph/o
Suffixes:
-trophic, -trophy
nutrition
75
CF: aer/o
Meaning:
air
Aeroplane is the British spelling of airplane.
76
CF: blast/o
Meaning:
embryonic form
The names of early (embryonic) forms have -blast endings. For example, embryonic bone cells are osteoblasts.
77
CF: cancer/o, carcin/o
Meaning:
cancer
A carcinoma is a cancerous tumor.
78
CF: cephal/o
Meaning:
head
Cephalic means pertaining to the head.
79
CF: cry/o
Meaning:
cold
Cryotherapy uses cold temperatures to treat certain conditions.
80
CF: crypt/o
Meaning:
hidden
A cryptic remark has a hidden meaning. A cryptogram is a message written in code, so it has a hidden meaning.
81
CF: dips/o
Meaning:
thirst
Polydipsia means excessive thirst.
82
CF: electr/o
Meaning:
electricity
Electr/o will be easy to remember because the combining form is contained in its meaning, electricity.
83
CF: fibr/o
Meaning:
fiber
Fibrous means containing, consisting of, or resembling fiber.
84
CF: hist/o
Meaning:
tissue
Histocompatibility is a measure of the compatibility of tissue of a donor and recipient.
85
CF:
Meaning:
fungus
Mycology is a branch of botany that deals with fungi (plural of fungus).
86
CF: narc/o
Meaning:
stupor
Narcotics are so named because they produce insensibility or stupor.
87
CF: necr/o
Meaning:
dead
Necrosis is localized tissue death in response to disease or injury (see Fig. 12.17).
88
CF: optic/o, opt/o
Meaning:
vision
Optical pertains to vision. An optometrist tests the eyes to measure visual acuity and prescribes corrective lenses, if necessary.
89
CF: phon/o
Meaning:
voice
We hear someone's voice when we speak with that person by phone.
90
CF: phot/o
Meaning:
light
Photography produces images on a film by the action of radiant energy, especially light.
91
CF:
Meaning:
92
CF:
Meaning:
93
CF:
Meaning:
94
CF:
Meaning:
95
CF: py/o
Meaning:
pus
Pyogenic means “pus producing.”
96
CF: therm/o
Meaning:
heat
Thermal clothing is designed to prevent loss of body heat.
97
CF: top/o
Meaning:
position, place
Topography is often concerned with the making of maps or charts to show relative positions and elevations of a particular place or region.
98
CF: trache/o
Meaning:
trachea (windpipe)
Endotracheal means within or through the trachea.
