Medical Prefixes Flashcards by Laura Rios

Lack of or without.

A or an

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Away from.

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Of or relating to the abdomen. Example abdominal.

Abdomin

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To/Toward

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Air, gas, example area, Aerosinusitis.

Aer(o)

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Not, without. Example analgesia – without pain.

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Blood vessel. Example angiogram – x-ray to look at blood vessels.

Angi

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Of or pertaining to an artery. Example arteriole – small branch of an artery.

Arterio

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Of or pertaining to the joints, limbs. Example arthritis – inflammation of the joints.

Arthr

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Fatty deposits, soft, gruel, like deposits. Example atherosclerosis – pattern of disease where the artery walls build up fatty deposits.

Ather

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Of or pertaining to the armpit. Example axilla – armpit.

Auxill

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Of or pertaining to the eyelid. Example: Blepharospasm - Spasm of the eyelid.

Belpharo

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Of or relating to the arm.

Brachio-

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Slow. Example: Bradycardia - A condition where an individual has a resting heart rate of under 60 beats per minute in adults.

Brady-

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Of or relating to the bronchus. Example: Bronchitis - Inflammation of the lungs that causes coughing.

Bronchi-

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Fluid sac between the bones. Example: Bursitis - inflammation of the fluid sac between the bones.

Burs(o)-

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Cancer. Example: carcinoma – a malignancy that develops from epithelial cells.

Carcin

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Of a pertaining to the heart. Example: cardiology – branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart.

Cardi-

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Of or pertaining to the wrist. Example: metacarpal – long bones, which connect your wrist to your fingers.

Carp-

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Of or pertaining to the head (as a whole). Example: hydrocephalus – a condition in which cerebrospinal fluid occurs within the brain.

Cephal(o)-

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Of our pertaining to the brain.

Cerebr(o)-

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Of or pertaining to the neck or cervix. Example: cervical vertebrae.

Cervic-

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Of or pertaining to bile. Example: cholecystitis - inflammation of the gallbladder.

Chol(e)-
Cholecyst(o)-

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Pertaining to the skin (cutaneous).

Cutan-

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Abnormal, difficult, or painful. Example dysphagia – difficulty swallowing.

Dys-

Of or pertaining to the tongue. Example: glossology - scientific study of language.

Gloss(o)- Glott(o)

Of or pertaining to blood. Example hematology – study of diseases related to blood.

Hem-

Of or pertaining to liver. Example: hepatitis – inflammation of the liver.

Hepat-

Tissue. Example: histology – the study of microscopic anatomy of biological tissue.

Hist-

Of or pertaining to the shoulder or the upper arm. Example, humorous – the long bone in the arm that runs from the shoulder to the elbow.

Humer-

Extreme or beyond normal. Example: hypertension – high blood pressure.

Hyper-

Below normal. Example: hypertension – low blood pressure.

Hypo-

Below. Example: infrahyoid muscles – muscles in the frontal part of the neck.

Infra-

Between, among.

Inter-

Within.

Intra-

Of or pertaining to the abdominal wall. Example laparotomy – a surgical procedure involving small incisions through the abdominal wall.

Laparo-

Of or pertaining to the larynx, the lower throat cavity where the voice box is example laryngitis - inflammation of the larynx.

Laryng(o)

Dissolution.

Lys(o)

Large in size. Example: Macrocytosis - red blood cells that are larger than normal.

Macro-

Enlargement.

Mega- Megal(o)-

Black or dark in color. Example: melanocyte – a mature melanin forming cell.

Melano-

Middle.

Mes-

After, beside, beyond or change. Example metacarpal bones.

Meta-

Small in size. Example microscope – an instrument used to examine objects that are too small to be seen by the naked eye.

Micro-

Muscle. Example: musculoskeletal system.

Muscul(o)-

Of or relating to muscle.

My(o)-

Of or relating to one marrow or the spinal cord. Example myeloblast a stem cell which differential into the effectors of the granulocyte series.

Myel(o)-

Death. Example: necrosis - a form of cell injury, which results in the premature death of cells in living tissues, by autolysis.

Necr(o)-

New.

Neo-

Of or pertaining to the kidney. Example: nephrology – the study of the kidneys.

Nephr(o)-

Of or pertaining to the nerves and the nervous system.

Neur-

Pain.

Odyn-

Having little; having a few. Example: oligotrophy - condition of having organisms that can live in an environment that offers very low levels of nutrients.

Olig-

Tumor, bulk, volume. Example oncology – branch of medicine that deals with prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer.

Onco-

Bone, bony. Example. Osseous - description of bone. Osteoarthritis – degenerative joint disease resulting from breakdown of cartilage and bone.

Ossi- Osse- Oste- Osteo-

Disease. Example; pathology – the study of the cause and effects of disease or injury.

Patho-

Denoting something with a position surrounding or around another. Example periodontal – dentistry, that studies, supporting structures of the teeth (around the teeth).

Peri-

Of or pertaining to the pharynx, the upper throat cavity. Example: pharyngitis – inflammation of the pharynx.

Pharyng-

Many. Example: polyarthralgia - medical condition, where pain occurs in several joints of the body.

Poly-

False or deceptive, usually in regard to appearance. Example: pseudocyst - a common complication of acute and chronic pancreatitis. Not a true cyst because the lining that compromises assist is not made up of true pancreatic cells, but rather the scar tissue form by surrounding organs when pancreatic fluid leaks during acute injury.

Pseudo-

Itching. Example: psoriasis - auto immune disease characterized by raised areas of abnormal skin.

Psor-

Of or pertaining to the mind. Example psychology.

Psych-

Fever.

Pyr-

Behind or backward. Example: retroperitoneal - relating to the area behind the abdominal cavity, including: kidneys, bladder, portions of the duodenum, pancreas, and colon.

Retro-

Of or pertaining to the nose. Example: rhinoplasty – plastic surgery that reconstruct and ultras the nose.

Rhin(o)

Muscular, flashlight. Example sarcoma – a malignant tumor.

Sarco-

Denoting something split” or “Double sided.” Example schizophrenia.

Schiz(o)-

Hard. Example: scleroderma - thickening and hardening of the skin blood vessels, muscles, and internal organs.

Scler(o)-

Twisted example: scoliosis – condition in which a person spine has a sideways curve.

Scolo(o)-

Body, bodily. Example: somatic.

Somat(o)- Somatico-

Spleen. Example. Splenectomy - removal of the spleen.

Splen(o)-

Of or pertaining to the spine, the vertebrae. Example spondylitis inflammation of the spine.

Spondyl(o)-

Beneath, under. Example: subcutaneous tissue – lower most layer of the integumentary system.

Sub-

In excess, above, superior.

Super-

Above, excessive.

Supra-

Denoting something as fast irregularly fast. Example: tachycardia – a heart rate that exceeds the normal resting heart rate.

Tachy-

Treatment. Example: therapeutic.

Therap-

Heat. Example: hypothermia.

Thermo-

Of or pertaining to the upper chest, chest; the area above the breast, and under the neck. Example thoracic.

Thorac(i)- Thorac(o)- Thoracico-

Of or relating to a blood clot, Claudina blood. Example thrombus – blood clot.

Thromb(o)-

Lymph. Example: – Condition of swelling caused by a compromised lymphatic system.

Lymph(o)-

Thyroid.

Thyr(o)-

Emotions. Example. Dysthymia - persistent depressive disorder.

Thym-

Toxin, poison.

Tox-

Eardrum.

Tympan(o)-