Analyzing medical terms Flashcards
What does dissecting a word mean?
Analyze the word structurally by dividing it into its basic components
What does begin with the end mean?
After dividing the word into its basic parts, define the suffix first, the prefix second, and then the root. If there is two roots, divide each one and read them from left to right
What does anatomical order mean?
where body systems are involved, the words usually are built in the order in which the organs occur in the body.
The order of word parts in a medical term may also represent the order of blood flow through organs.
The exception to this involves some diagnostic procedure in which tools or substances are passed retrograde, or in the opposite direction of anatomical order. In these cases, the words are built in the order in which the equipment passes the body part
What guidelines do you use to analyze a term?
1st - divide the term into its basic components
Ex: ovariohysterectomy - ovari/o/hyster/ectomy
2nd - Defining from back to front - suffix -ectomy (surgical removal, one combining form ovari/o means ovary, and the other combining form hysteri/o means uterus. Together the term ovariohysterectomy means surgical removal of the ovaries and uterus. This term is based on the order in which the ovaries and uterus are found in the body.
