Common Prefixes and Terms Flashcards
Brachi/o
Arm
Cardi/o
Heart
Carp/o
Wrist
Cephal/o
Head
Cervic/o
Neck
Encephal/o
Brain
Faci/o
Face
Gloss/o
Tongue
Nas/o
Nose
Ot/o
Ear
Pil/o
Hair
Steth/o
Chest
Thorac/o
Chest, thorax
Thyr/o
Thyroid gland
Trache/o
Trachea
Ureter/o
Ureter
Vas/o
Vessel
Vesic/o
Bladder, blister
Viscer/o
Viscera - internal organs in the main cavities of the body, especially thosein the abdomen
Axillary
Pertaining to the armpit
Baccal
Pertaining to the cheek
Cranial
Pertaining to the skull or cranium
Cutaneous
Pertaining to the skin
Deltoid
Pertaining to the shoulder muscle
Femoral
Pertaining to the thigh
Gluteal
Pertaining to the buttocks
Hepatic
Pertaining to the liver
Inguinal
Pertaining to the groin (depressions in the abdominal wall near the thighs)
Mammary
Pertaining to the breast
Occipital
Pertaining to the inferior posterior region of the head
Orbital
Pertaining to the bones surrounding the eye
Pectoral
Pertaining to the chest
Perineal
Pertaining to the perineum, the area between the sacrum and pubis
Plantar
Pertaining to the sole of the foot
Popliteal
Pertaining to the posterior knee
Pulmonary
Pertaining to the lungs
Renal
Pertaining to the kidneys
Sacral
Pertaining to the lowest portion of the spine
Temporal
Pertaining to the temples of the head
Umbilical
Pertaining to the navel (belly button)
Volar
Pertaining to the sole of the foot or palm of the hand
Top
Superior
Closest to the head
Inferior
Bottom
Closest to the feet
Medial
Middle
Closest to the midline
Lateral
Side
Farthest from the midline
Proximal
Closest
Closest to the point of attachment
Distal
Farthest
Farthest from the point of attachment
Superficial
Closest to the surface of the skin
Deep
Farther inside the body
Anterior / ventral
Front
Front of the body
Posterior / dorsal
Back
Back of the body
ab-
Away from
Ex: abduction - away from the midline of the body, or a specified point of reference
ad-
To, towards
Ex: adduction - toward the midline of the body
de-
Down from, away
Ex: decay - to waste away
circum-
Around, about
Ex: circumferential burn - a burn around an entire area (arm, chest, abdomen, ect)
peri-
Around
Ex: pericardium - sac around the heart
trans-
Across, through, beyond
Ex: transvaginal - across or though the vagina
epi-
above, upon, on
Ex: epigastric - above or over the stomach
supra-
Above, upper
Ex: suprasternal notch - top of the sternum
retro-
Behind
Ex: retroperitoneal - area behind the peritoneum (the tissue that lines your abdominal wall and covers most of the organs in your abdomen)
sub-
Under, below
Ex: subcutaneous - under the skin
infra-
Below, under
Ex: infrathoracic - below or at the bottom of the thorax
para-
Near, beside, beyond, apart from
Ex: parasternal - near the sternum
contra-
Against, opposite
Ex: contraindicated - something that is not indicated
ecto-
Out, outside
Ex: ectopic pregnancy - pregnancy where the embryo develops outside of the uterus
endo-
Within
Ex: endoscopy - view inside the body (with an endoscope)
extra-
Outside, in addition
Ex: extraneous - existing or belonging outside the organism
intra-
Inside, within
Ex: intrauterine - within the uterus
ipsi-
Same
Ex: ipsilateral - on or affecting the same side
inter-
Between
Ex: intercostal - between the ribs
°
Degrees
1°
First, first degree, primary
2°
Secondary, second degree
↑
(arrow up)
Increase(d)
↓
(arrow down)
Decrease(d)
Ⓡ
Right
Ⓛ
Left
α
Alpha
β
Beta
Ø
Null or none
~, ≈
Approximately
N
Normal
X2
Times two
/
Per
±
Plus or minus
≠
Not equal
>
Greater than
Less than
≥
Greater than or equal to
≤
Less than or equal to
?
Questionable, possible
∆
Change
__
Negative
♀
Female
♂
Male
kg
1 kilogram (kg)
2.2 pounds (lb)
1,000 grams (g)
g
1 gram (g) 1,000 milligrams (mg)
mg
1 milligram (mg) 1,000 micrograms (mcg)
L
1 liter (L) 1,000 milliliters (mL)
cm
1 centimeter (cm) 0.39 inches (in.) 10 millimeters (mm)
m
1 meter (m) 100 centimeters (cm)
micr/o / mc
1/1,000,000
or
0.000001
milli- / m
1/1,000
or
0.001
centi- / c
10
or
0.01
kil/o / k
1,000
mega- / M
1 million
or
1,000,000
amp
Ampule - a sealed glass capsule containing a liquid, especially a measured quantity ready for injecting
caps
Capsules
elix
elixir
gtt
drop(s)
HHN
Handheld nebulizer
IC
Intracardiac
IVP
Intravenous push
IVPB
Intravenous piggyback
KO
Keep open
KVO
Keep vein open
LR
Lactated ringer (solution)
max
Maximum
MDI
Metered-dose inhaler
mEq
Milliequivalents
MS or MSO4
Morphine sulfate
pr
Per rectus (by rectum)
RL
Ringer lactate (solution)
SVN
Small-volume nebulizer
tid
Ter in die (three times a day)
TKO
To keep open
ut dict
Ut dictum (as directed)
a-
Without, lack of
ab-
Away from
abdomin/o
abdomen
acr/o
To, toward
aden/o
Pertaining to a gland
an-
Without, lack of
ana-
Up, back, again
angio-
Vessel
ante-
Before, forward
anti-
Against, opposed to
arteri/o
Artery
arthro-
Pertaining to a joint
auto-
Self
bi-
Two
bio-
Pertaining to life
blast/o
Germ or cell
blephar/o
Pertaining to an eyelid
brady-
Slow
calc-
Stone; also heel
cardi/o
Pertaining to the heart
cephal/o
Pertaining to the head
cerebr/o
Pertaining to the cerebrum, a part of the brain
cervic/o
Pertaining to the neck or the uterine cervix
chole-
Pertaining to bile
chondr/o
Pertaining to cartilage
circum-
Around, about
contra-
Against, opposite
cost/o
Pertaining to a rib
cyan/o
blue
cyst/o
Pertaining to the bladder or any fluid-containing sac
cyt/o
Pertaining to a cell
de-
Down from
glyc/o
sugar
latero-
Side
de-
down from
gynec/o
Pertaining to females or the female reproductive organs
leuk/o
Pertaining to anything white or leukocytes (white blood cells)
dermat/o
Pertaining to the skin
hemat/o
Pertaining to blood
lith/o
Pertaining to a stone
di-
Twice, double
hemi-
half
macro-
Large
dia-
Through, across
hem/o
Pertaining to blood
mal-
Bad or abnormal
dys-
Difficult, painful, abnormal
hepat/o
Pertaining to the liver
medi-
Middle
ect/o
Out, out from
heter/o
Other, different
mega-
Large
electro-
Pertaining to electricity
hom/o
Same or like
melan-
Black
end/o
Within
hydr/o
Water
mening/o
Pertaining to a membrane, particularly the meninges
enter/o
Pertaining to the intestines or gut
hyper-
Over, excessive
micro-
Small
epi-
Upon, on, above
hypo-
Under, deficient
mono-
One
erythr/o
Pertaining to anything red or to erythrocytes (red blood cells)
hyster/o
pertaining to the uterus
myel/o
Pertaining to the spinal cord, the bone marrow, or myelin
eu-
Easy, good, normal
infra-
Below
my/o
Pertaining to muscle
ex/o
outside
inter-
between
nas/o
Pertaining to the nose
extra-
Outside, in addition
intra-
Withinq
neo-
New
gastr/o
Pertaining to the stomach
iso-
Equal
nephr/o
Pertaining to the kidney
Homonyms
Pairs of words that are pronounced almost the same way
Antonyms
Pairs of word roots, prefixes or suffixes that have the opposite meaning of the word
Synonyms
Pairs of word roots, prefixes, or suffixes that have the same or almost the same meaning
Flexion
A body part going from the anatomical position towards the trunk
Extension
A body part going from the trunk back to the anatomical position
Abduction
Extremity moves away from the midline
Adduction
Extremity moves towards the midline
RUQ
Liver (most of it)
Gallbladder
intestine
LUQ
Spleen
Liver (only a little)
Stomach
Intestine
RLQ
Appendix
Intestine
Cecum (a pouch connected to the junction of the small and large intestines)
LLQ
Intestine
Colon
Rectum
Neur/o
Pertaining to the nerves or the nervous system
Noct-
Night
Olig/o
Little, deficient
Oophor/o
Pertaining to the ovary
Ophthalm/o
Pertaining to the eye
Orchid/o
Pertaining to the testicles
Orchi/o
Pertaining to the testicles
Oro-
Pertaining to the mouth
Ortho-
Straight or normal
Oste/o
Pertaining to bone
Ot/o
Pertaining to the ear
Para-
By the side of
Path/o
Pertaining to disease
Per-
Through
Peri-
Around
Phag/o
Pertaining to eating, ingesting, or engulfing
Pharyng/o
Pertaining to the throat, or pharynx
Phleb/o
Pertaining to a vein
Pneum/o
Pertaining to respiration, the lungs, or air
Poly-
Many
Pro-
Before, in front of
Proct/o
Pertaining to the rectum
Pseud/o
False
Psych/o
Pertaining to the mind
Pulm/o
Pertaining to the lungs
Pur-
Pertaining to pus
Pyel/o
Pertaining to the kidney or pelvis
Py/o
Pertaining to pus
Quadr/i
Four
Quart-
Fourth, four
Quat-
Four
Retr/o
Backward or behind
Rhin/o
Pertaining to the nose
Salping/o
Pertaining to a tube
Scler/o
Hard; also means pertaining to the sclera of the eye
Semi-
Half or partial
Sub-
Under, moderately
Super-
Above, excessive, or more than normal
Supra-
Above
Therm-
Pertaining to temperature
Thorac/o
Pertaining to the chest
Trans-
Across
Vas/o
Vessel
