Common Medical Suffixes

Question 1

-trophy

Answer 1

development, nourishment, e.g., hypertrophy (an overgrowth or increase in the bulk of a body part or organ)

Question 2

-phobia

Answer 2

fear, e.g., claustrophobia (fear of being closed in a small space)

Question 3

-plasty

Answer 3

surgical repair, e.g., thoracoplasty (reparative or plastic surgery to the chest)

Question 4

-otomy

Answer 4

incision, to cut into, e.g., nephrotomy (an incision into the kidney)

Question 5

-oma

Answer 5

tumor, e.g., carcinoma (a malignant tumor)

Question 6

-stasis

Answer 6

arrest, control e.g., cholestasia (an arrest in the flow of bile from the liver)

Question 7

-path

Answer 7

morbid or diseased, e.g., a sociopath (a person who feels no remorse or guilt about behaving in socially unaccepted ways, e.g., physically beating a roommate and feeling no guilt or remorse)

Question 8

-algia

Answer 8

pain, e.g., neuralgia (nerve pain)

Question 9

-lysis

Answer 9

breakdown, e.g., hemolysis (the destruction of red blood cells)

Question 10

-lith

Answer 10

stone, e.g., nephrolith (kidney stone)

Question 11

-pathy

Answer 11

disease, e.g., neuropathy (any nerve disease) or angiocardiopathy (disease of the heart or blood vessels) or cardiomyopathy a disease of the heart; diabetic neruropathy is an often heard term in the nursing facility

Question 12

-orrhea

Answer 12

flow, discharge, e.g., gastrorrhea (excessive secretion of gastric juice or mucus by the stomach)

Question 13

-orexia

Answer 13

appetite, desire, e.g., anorexia (loss of appetite)

Question 14

-sclerosis

Answer 14

hardening, e.g., arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries)

Question 15

-megaly

Answer 15

enlargement, e.g., cardiomegaly (enlargement of the heart)

Question 16

-clysis

Answer 16

washing, irrigation, e.g., enteroclysis (enema of the intestines)

Question 17

-emesis

Answer 17

vomiting, e.g., hyperemesis (excessive vomiting)

Question 18

-opsy

Answer 18

vision, e.g., biopsy (excision of a small piece of living tissue from a patient for microscopic examination)

Question 19

-centesis

Answer 19

surgical puncture, e.g., paracentesis (a puncture of the body cavity for removing fluid)

Question 20

-ectomy

Answer 20

excision (cutting out) of, e.g., tonsillectomy (cutting out of the tonsils)

Question 21

-clasis

Answer 21

breaking, e.g., thromboclasis (the breaking up of a blood clot)

Question 22

-ac

Answer 22

pertaining to, e.g., cardiac (pertaining to the heart)

Question 23

-taxis

Answer 23

order, arrangement, e.g., thermotaxis (regulation of the temperature of the body

Question 24

-penia

Answer 24

deficiency, e.g., leukopenia (any situation in which the total number of leukocytes -white blood cells- in the circulating blood is less than normal)

Question 25

-pexy

Answer 25

fixation, to put into place, e.g., nephropexy (surgical attachment of a floating kidney)

Question 26

-pnea

Answer 26

breath, e.g., polypnea (very rapid breathing)

Question 27

-it is

Answer 27

inflammation, e.g., dermatitis (inflammation of the skin)

Question 28

-cele

Answer 28

hernia, e.g., protrusion of a portion of an organ or tissue through the wall that normally contains it.

Question 29

-orrhaphy

Answer 29

suture, e.g., gastrorrhaphy (the suture of a perforation of the stomach

Question 30

-ac

Answer 30

pertaining to, e.g., cardiac (pertaining to the heart)

Question 31

-uria

Answer 31

urine, e.g., albuminuria (the presence of protein in urine, chiefly albumin; albumin is any protein that is soluble in water)

Question 32

-emia

Answer 32

denoting a condition of the blood, e.g., glycemia (sugar in the blood)

Question 33

-ectasia

Answer 33

dilation, stretching, e.g., gastrectasia (dilation of the stomach)

Question 34

-odynia

Answer 34

painful condition, e.g., cardiodynia (pain in the heart)

Question 35

-pepsia

Answer 35

digestion, e.g., dyspepsia (indigestion or upset stomach)

Question 36

-tripsy

Answer 36

crushing, e.g., lithotripsy (the crushing of a stone in the kidney by a machine, called a lithotripter, that uses sound waves to break stones into minute particles, which can then be passed in the urine)

Question 37

-genesis

Answer 37

condition of producing, e.g., carcinogenesis (the origin or production of cancer)

Question 38

-malasia

Answer 38

softening, e.g. osteomalasia (a disease characterized by gradual softening and bending of the bones)

Question 39

-rhythmia

Answer 39

rhythmical, e.g., arrhythmia (any variation from the normal rhythm of the heart)

Question 40

-ostomy

Cards Remaining: 10

Answer 40

to make a new opening, e.g., colostomy (the establishment of an artificial anus by an opening into the colon)

Question 41

-cyte

Answer 41

cell, e.g., hematocyte (any blood cell)

Question 42

-spasm

Answer 42

sudden violent involuntary contraction of muscles, e.g., myospasm (spasm of a muscle)