Medical words basic elements Flashcards
What are the four elements of a medical word?
Word root (WR), Combining form (CF), Suffix, Prefix
Word root
Part of the word that is the main meaning of the entire word, some don’t have a word root such as “heart”
Word root examples
Hepat in hepatitis, laryng in laryngitis
Combining form
A vowel inserted after word root to make it easier to pronounce EX mammOgram not mammgram
Combining form examples
psychOlogy, hepatOmegaly, laryngOspasm
Suffix
Word element at End of word
Suffix types
- Surgical
- Diagnostic, pathological, and
related - Grammatical and diminutive
- Singular and plural
Suffix examples
ectomy, itis, oma, tomy, scope
Surgical suffix
To describe a surgical procedure
Surgical suffix example
append/ECTOMY, arthr/o/CENTESIS, lith/o/TRIPSY
Diagnostic suffixes
Denote procedure or test performed to identify cause/nature of illness
Diagnostic suffixes example
electr/o/cardio/GRAM, gastr/o/SCOPY
Pathological suffixes
Describe abnormal condition disease
Pathological suffixes example
neur/ALGIA, gastr/ITIS, hem/o/RRHAGE
Grammatical suffixes
Turns word roots into adjective or noun
Grammatical suffixes example
ic in gastric (adjective), ia in pneumonia (noun)
Diminutive suffixes
Makes the word mean the smaller version from its original version of the word
Diminutive suffixes example
tub/ULE, arteri/OLE
Singular/plural suffixes
Modifies words from singular to plural forms
Prefix
Word element at beginning of word
Prefix types
- Position
- Number and Measurement
- Direction
Prefix example
hyper, hemi, epi, post, inter
Position prefixes examples
EPI/gastr/ic, INTER/cost/al, PRE/nat/al, POST/nat/al, SUB/nas/al
Number/measurement prefixes
Describe an amount, size, or degree of involvement
Position prefixes
To describe a place/location
Number/measurement prefixes example
POLY/phobia, MACRO/cyte, MICRO/cyte,
Direction prefixes
indicate a pathway/route
Direction prefixes examples
CIRCUM/ren/al, EXTRA/crani/al, INTRA/muscul/ar, PARA/nas/al, SUPRA/ren/al, ENDO/crine
Other prefixes
ANTI/bacteri/al, AN/esthesia, A/mast/ia, EU/pnea, DYS/pnea, HOMO/graft
