Prefixes Flashcards
a-, an-
Without (Arrhythmia is without a rhythm)
ante-, pre-, pro-,
Before ( Antenatal or prenatal vitamins are vitamins taken before a baby is born)
anti-, contra-,
Against (Anticoagulants are chemicals that work against the the bloods clotting ability)
Bi-, diplo-,
Two (Bilateral means “pertaining to two sides”; diplococci are bacteria appearing in pairs (twos).)
Brady-
Slow (Bradycardia is a condition of a slow heart (rate).)
Circum-
Around (Circumference is the measurement around an object.)
De-
Away from (Dehydration is the process of taking water away from the body.)
Dia-, trans-,
Through (Diathermy is a treatment modality of passing heat through the skin to the underlying tissues. Transcutaneous medications are absorbed through the skin.)
Dys-
Abnormal, painful, difficult (Dysuria is a condition of painful urination.)
Ecto-
Outside (Ectopic pregnancies occur when the ovum becomes fertilized outside of the uterus.)
Endo-
Within (Endoscopies are procedures in which an instrument is placed within the body for viewing structures.)
Epi-
Upon, over (The epidermis is the outermost laver of skin over the dermis.)
Eu-
Normal, good ( Euthvroid indicates that thyroid function is normal.)
Ex-, exo-, extra-,
Out of, away from, outside (Exophthalmos is an abnormal condition of the eyeballs in which they appear to be out of the sockets, exoskeleton is a skeleton on the outside of the body, and extracurricular refers to activities outside of the classroom.)
Hemi-, semi-,
Half (Hemiplegia is paralysis occurring on one side of the body; semiconscious is being half conscious and half unconscious.)
Hypo-, sub-,
Below normal, below, underneath, inferior (Hypodermic injections are administered below the dermis of the skin. Substernal chest pain would be underneath the breastbone of the rib cage)
Inter-
Between (Intercostal spaces are located between the ribs.)
Intra-
Within (Intracellular fluid is the fluid found within the cells.)
Iso-
Same (Isotonic saline has the same pH as blood.)
Mal-
Bad, not adequate (Malabsorption occurs when the body has bad or inadequate absorption through the gastrointestinal tract.)
Megalo-, mega-, macro-
Large, Big ( Megalocytes are large cells.)
Micro-
Small, tiny (A microscope is an instrument used for viewing tiny things.)
Mono-
One (A monocyte is a cell that contains only one nucleus.)
Multi-, pluri-,
Many (Multipara indicates that a woman has had more than one pregnancy (many pregnancies).)
Oligo-
Few, scanty, sparse (Oliguria is a condition in which scanty urine is produced.)
Pan-
All (Pancvtopenia is an abnormal decrease in the number of all cells.)
Peri-,
Around (Perianal pertains to the area around the anus.)
Post-
After, following (Postmortem is after death.)
Quadra-, Quadri-,
Four (Quadrants are imaginary divisions of four sections;) (quadriplegia is the paralysis of all four extremities)
Re-
Again, backward (Reproduce is to produce again.)
Super-, supra-,
Above, superior, more (Superman has powers above the normal mortal man; suprapubic is the area immediately above the pubis.)
Tachy-
Fast, abnormally fast (Tachvcardia is a condition of an abnormally fast heartbeat.)
Ultra-
Beyond (An ultrasound is a radiological procedure that goes beyond the speed of sound.)
Uni-
One, singular (Unilateral pertains to one side only.)
