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Scribe America > Basic Medical Terminology > Flashcards

Basic Medical Terminology Flashcards

1
Q

Abrasion

A

Scrape of the skin due to something abrasive.

Ab- meaning away from

Think: Pulling to top layer of skin “away from” the rest.

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2
Q

Acute

A

New, usually of rapid onset and of concern, opposite of chronic

Acu/o- meaning sharp; severe; sudden

Think: an acute Illness develops “suddenly” and is “severe”

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3
Q

Ambulate

A

To walk from place to place

Think: the patient was allowed to “ambulate”, or walk around, her room.

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4
Q

Anterior

A

Located towards the front of the body

Anter/o- meaning front

Think: if a baby is OA (Occipital Anterior), the back of his head is facing the mother’s front.

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5
Q

Artery

A

Blood vessel carrying blood away from the heart

Arter/o and Arteri/o- meaning artery

Think: Artery Away (AA)

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6
Q

Benign

A

Normal, of no danger to health

Think: a benign tumor is “of no danger” and is not cancerous or dangerous.

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7
Q

Bradycardia

A

Slow heart-rate (HR less than 60bpm)

Brady- meaning slow
Cardi/o- meaning heart

Think: Bradey has a slow heart.

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8
Q

Cardiomegaly

A

Enlarged heart

Cardi/o- meaning heart
Megaly- meaning enlargement

Think: MEGA heart!!!!!

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9
Q

Cholecystitis

Cho-le-cys-ti-tis

A

Inflammation of the cholecyst (gallbladder)

Cholecyst- meaning gallbladder
-itis- meaning inflammation

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10
Q

Chronic

A

Long-standing, constant. Opposite of acute

Chron/o- meaning time

Think: lasting a long time.

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11
Q

COPD

A

Chronic- meaning long-lasting
Obstructive- meaning causing obstruction
Pulmonary- Pulmon/o- meaning lung
Disease- Impairing normal body function

Lung disease commonly seen in smokers.

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12
Q

Coronary Artery

A

The artery that supplies heart tissue with blood.

Coron/o- meaning crown or circle

Think: the coronary artery encircles the heart.

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13
Q

Cerebrovascular Accident (CVA)

A

A.k.a. Stroke. Lack of blood supply to the brain causing brain damage.

Cerebr/o- meaning cerebrum (largest part of the brain)
Vascul/o- meaning vessel (blood)

Think: an accident where the vessels do not supply enough blood to the brain and cause damage.

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14
Q

Diaphoresis

A

Sweating.

Diaphor/o- meaning sweat
-esis- meaning action; condition; state of

Think: The act or condition of sweating. Sweating like a Dog (D for Diaphoresis)

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15
Q

Distal

A

Farther from the trunk of the body.

dist/o- meaning far; distant

Think: The distal end of the bone is the end farthest from the body.

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16
Q

Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT)

A

A blood clot in a deep vein, most often an extremity.

thromb/o- clot
-sis - state of; condition

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17
Q

Dyspnea

A

Problems with breathing

dys- meaning bad; painful; difficult; abnormal
pnea- meaning breathing

Think: like apnea but instead to stopping breathing, just difficulty breathing.

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18
Q

Dysuria

dis-your-ē-a

A

Painful urination

dys- meaning bad, painful, difficult, or abnormal
-uria- meaning urination; condition of urine

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19
Q

Ecchymosis

ec-chy-mo-sis

A

A bruise

ec- meaning out; outside

Think: a bruise is seen on the outside

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20
Q

Edema

A

Swelling

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21
Q

Emesis

e-me-ses

A

Vomiting

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22
Q

Epistaxis

A

Nose bleed

A Greek word meaning “a dripping”

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23
Q

Erythema/ Erythematous

er-y-them-a-tous

A

Redness/ Red

erythem/o- meaning redness

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24
Q

Febrile

A

Elevated body temperature, fever, indicative of infection.

febr/i- meaning fever

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25
Q

Grossly

A

Obviously; a lot; wholly

Think: “wholly” moley! That is a “gross” amount of candy and you can’t hide it.

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26
Q

Hematemesis

he-ma-tem-e-sis

A

Very large amounts of blood in the vomit.

hemat/o- meaning blood
-emesis- meaning vomiting

27
Q

Hematuria

he-ma-tu-ria

A

Very large amounts of blood in the urine.

hemat/o- meaning blood
-uria- meaning urination; condition of urine

28
Q

Hemoptysis

he-mop-ty-sis

A

Coughing up very large amounts of blood.

hem/o- meaning blood
-ptysis- meaning spitting

Think: Spitting makes a “pt” sound. Spitting blood= coughing up blood.

29
Q

Hemorrhage

A

Excessive or profuse bleeding.

hem/o- meaning blood
-rrhage- meaning bursting forth (of blood)

30
Q

Hepatomegaly

he-pa-to-meg-a-ly

A

Enlarged liver

hepat/o- meaning liver
-megaly- meaning enlargement

Think: “hepat”itis is a disease affecting the liver.

31
Q

Hypertension

A

High blood pressure

hyper- meaning above; excessive
-tension- meaning pressure

32
Q

Hypotension

A

Low blood pressure.

hypo- meaning deficient; below; under; less than normal
-tension- meaning pressure

33
Q

Hypoxia

A

Low oxygen saturation of the body, not enough oxygen in the blood.

hypo- meaning deficient
-oxia- meaning oxygen

34
Q

Infarct

A

Area of dead tissue after a lack of blood supply.

Think: Jimmy didn’t get enough blood supply to his leg after the accident. He’s “farct”!

35
Q

Inferior

A

Lower on the body, farther from the head.

36
Q

Ischemia

A

Lack of blood supply.

isch/o- meaning to hold back; back
-emia- meaning blood condition

37
Q

Laceration

A

Splitting of the skin due to trauma (a cut due to something sharp).

38
Q

Lateral

A

Farther from the midline (a line that can be traced from nose to bellybutton).

later/o- meaning side

39
Q

Medial

A

Nearer to the midline.

medi/o- meaning middle

40
Q

Melena

A

Black tarry stools.

melan/o- black

Think: Melano cookies give you melena.

41
Q

Myocardial Infarction (MI)

A

Death of cardiac muscle due to ischemia.

my/o- meaning muscle
cardi/o- meaning heart

42
Q

Myalgia

A

Muscular pain, “muscle aches”.

my/o- meaning muscle
-algia- meaning pain

43
Q

Oriented x3

A

Oriented to person, place, and time.

44
Q

Pallor

A

Pale skin.

45
Q

Posterior/ Dorsal

A

Rear or backside of the body.

poster/o- meaning back (of body); behind
dors/o- meaning back of body

Think: Dorsal fin on a shark.

46
Q

Proximal

A

Nearer to the trunk of the body.

proxim/o- meaning near

47
Q

Pruritic

pru-rit-ic

48
Q

Pulmonary Embolism (PE)

A

Blocking of pulmonary artery due to blood clot.

Pulmon/o- meaning lung
-ary- meaning pertaining to

49
Q

Purulent

pu-ru-lent

A

Pus-like

purul/o- meaning pus

50
Q

Rales

A

Crackles; wet crackling noise in lungs.

51
Q

Rhinorrhea

A

Clear nasal discharge, “runny nose”.

Think: Rhinos have a horn on the nose. Nose diarrhea.

52
Q

Rhonchi

rän-kī

A

Rattling noise of mucus in the lungs.

53
Q

Sepsis

A

Dangerous infection of the blood.

-sepsis- meaning putrefaction

54
Q

STEMI

A

ST elevation MI, real-time ongoing death of heart tissue due to ischemia.

55
Q

Superior

A

Higher on the body, nearer to the head.

56
Q

Supine

A

Body position lying face up.

57
Q

Syncope

A

“Passing out”, loss of consciousness or fainting.

syncop/o- meaning to cut off; faint

58
Q

Tachycardia

A

Fast heart rate (HR greater than 100bpm).

tachy- meaning fast
cardi/o- meaning heart

59
Q

Tachypnea

A

Increased breathing rate.

tachy- meaning fast
-pnea- meaning breathing

60
Q

Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA)

A

Minor stroke; where neurological function is regained quickly with time.

61
Q

Vein

A

Blood vessel carrying blood towards the heart.

Think: opposite of artery.

62
Q

Vertigo

A

Condition of dizziness, “room spinning.”

63
Q

Wheezing

A

High pitched sound heard in the lungs with asthmatics or lung disease.

Scribe America (4 decks)

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