1. Introduction to Medical Terminology

2. Introduction
Special vocabulary used by health care professionals for effective and accurate communication
Most medical terms have Greek or Latin origins.
These terms date back to the founding of modern medicine by the Greeks and by the influence of Latin when it was the universal language in the Western world.
Other languages, such as German and French, have also influenced medical terms.
Today, many new terms are derived from English, which is considered the universal language.
Once you understand the basic medical term structure and know the commonly used prefixes, suffixes, and combining forms, you can learn the meaning of most medical terms by analyzing their component parts.
This lecture includes the most common prefixes and suffixes and a selection of common combining forms.

3. 1. psychology: the study of 2. pathology: the study of
3. hematology: the study of
4. cardiology: the study of
5. dermatology: the study of
6. gerontology: the study of
1. psychology: the study of mental processes and behavior
2. pathology: the study of disease processes
3. hematology: the study of blood and blood disorders
4. cardiology: the study of the heart and its diseases
5. dermatology: the study of the skin and its diseases
6. gerontology: the study of the aging process and its accompanying diseases

4. Good news!??
The good news is that there are only about 300 Latin and Greek word elements,
From which thousands of medical terms may be formed.
Once you have
learned those word elements, you can forget about Greek and Latin, since medical
terms are, as already stated, English words. In learning medical terminology,
you are not studying a foreign language. You are adding to your English
vocabulary.

5. TERM COMPONENTS
Most medical terms have three basic component parts: the root, the suffix, and the prefix.
Each term is formed by combining at least one root (the foundation or subject of the word), and a suffix (the word ending that modifies and gives essential meaning to the root).
A prefix is placed at the beginning of a term only when needed, to further modify the root or roots.

6. Root Suffix Fundamental unit of each medical word
Establishes basic meaning of word
Part to which prefixes and suffixes are added
Suffix
Short word part or parts added to the end of a word
Modifies the meaning of the root
Indicated by a dash before the suffix (-itis)

7. Prefix Short word part added before a root
Modifies the meaning of the root
Followed by a dash (pre-)

10. EXERCISE 1
Breaking down and defining the key components in a term often defines the term or gives clues to its meaning. In the term lipemia, lip is the ………..that means………… , and -emia is the…………. that means……..
(root, fat, suffix, blood condition)
Memorizing key medical term components makes it possible to decipher that the term refers to the condition of ……..in the…….
(fat, blood)

11. PATTERNS OF TERM FORMATION
All medical terms build from the root.
Prefixes and suffixes are attached to the root to modify
its meaning.
Two or more roots are often linked together before being modified.
The following examples show the common patterns of medical term formation using the root cardi (heart) as a base.

12. 1. Root/Suffix
cardi/ac means……
pertaining to the heart
2. Prefix/Root/Suffix
epi/card/ium means….
structure or tissue upon the heart
3. Prefix/Prefix/Root/Suffix
sub/endo/cardi/al means
pertaining to below or under and within the heart
4. Root/Combining Vowel/Root/Suffix
cardi/o/vascul/ar means
pertaining to the heart and vessels

13. 5. Root/Combining Vowel/Suffix
cardi/o/logy means
study of the heart
6. Root/Combining Vowel/Suffix (Symptomatic)
cardi/o/dynia means
pain in the heart
7. Root/Combining Vowel/Suffix (Diagnostic)
cardi/o/rrhexis means
rupture of the heart
8. Root/Combining Vowel/Suffix (Operative)
cardi/o/rrhaphy means
suture of the heart

14. Exceptions
Most medical terms are formed by combining a root or roots and modified by suffixes and prefixes.
Occasionally, terms are formed by a root alone or a combination of roots.
Example: duct |
Root
to lead
ovi/duct
| |
Root/Root
egg/to lead

15. Oviduct refers to the uterine tube.
Sometimes, a term is formed from the combination of a prefix and suffix.
Example: meta/stasis
| |
Prefix/Suffix
| |
beyond, after, or change/stop or stand
Metastasis refers to the spread of a disease, such as cancer, from one location to another.

16. COMBINING FORMS AND COMBINING VOWELS
1. psych o logy = psychology
2. path o logy = pathology
When a medical term has more than one root, the roots are joined together by a vowel, usually an “o.”
the “o” is used to link the two parts and it provides easier pronunciation.
This vowel is known as a combining vowel.
“O” is the most common combining vowel (i is the second most common) and is used so frequently to join root to root or root to suffix that it is routinely attached to the root and presented as a combining form.
A combining form is…….. a with a………. attached.

18. DEFINING MEDICAL TERMS THROUGH WORD STRUCTURE ANALYSIS
You can usually define a term by interpreting the suffix first, then the prefix (if present), then the root or roots.
Example: pericarditis
peri/ card/ itis
| | |
prefix root suffix
| | |
around heart inflammation
pericarditis (inflammation around the heart)

19. Beginning students often have difficulty differentiating between prefixes and roots (or combining forms) because the root appears first in a medical term when a prefix is not used.
It is important to memorize the most common prefixes so that you can tell the difference.
Also, keep in mind that a prefix is used only as needed to further modify the root or roots.

20. RULES FOR FORMING AND SPELLING MEDICAL TERMS

21. F IVE BASIC RULES FOR FORMING AN D SPELLING M EDICAL TERMS
If the root ends in a consonant (any letter except a, e, i, o, u) and the suffix begins with a consonant, insert a combining vowel (usually an “o”) between the component parts
hepat/o -megaly is spelled hepatomegaly and is defined as……….
enlargement of liver

22. 2. A combining vowel is not used before a suffix that begins with vowel: vas/o -ectomy is spelled vasectomy and is defined as…….
3. If the root ends in a vowel and the suffix begins with the same vowel, drop the final vowel from the root and do not use a combining vowel: cardi/o -itis is spelled carditis and is defined as……..
4. Most often, a combining vowel is inserted between two roots even when the second root begins with a vowel: cardi/o esophag/o -eal is spelled cardioesophageal and is defined as………..
5. Occasionally, when a prefix ends in a vowel, and the root begins with a vowel, the final vowel is dropped from the prefix: para- enter/o -al is spelled parenteral and is defined as……..
excision (removal) of a vessel
inflammation of the heart
pertaining to the heart and esophagus
pertaining to alongside of
the small intestine
Note: All these rules have exceptions.

23. EXERCISE 2 1. angi/o -ectasis is spelled……and means……… angiectasis
expansion or dilation of a vessel
2. hemat/o -logy is spelled…… and means…..
hematology
study of blood
3. gastr/o enter/o -stomy is spelled….and means…
gastroenterostomy
creation of an opening (between) stomach and small intestine

24. 5. oligo- ur/o -ia is spelled…… and means…….
oliguria
condition of defcient urine
6. oste/o -ectomy is spelled…… and means…….
ostectomy
excision (removal) of bone

25. SPELLING MEDICAL TERMS
Correct spelling of medical terms is crucial for communication among health care professionals.
Careless spelling causes misunderstandings that can have serious consequences.
The following list shows some of the pitfalls to avoid.
Some words sound the same but are spelled differently and have different meanings. Context is the clue to spelling.
For example,
ileum (part of the intestine) and ilium (part of the hip bone)
sitology (study of food) cytology (study of cells)

26. 2. Other words sound similar but are spelled differently and have different meanings. For example,
abduction (to draw away from) adduction (to draw toward)
hepatoma (liver tumor) hematoma (blood tumor)
aphagia (inability to swallow) aphasia (inability to speak)

27. 3. Some words have more than one accepted spelling. For example,
orthopedic orthopaedic
leukocyte leucocyte
4. Some combining forms have the same meaning but different origins that compete for usage.
For example,
three combining forms mean uterus:
hyster/o (Greek)
metr/o (Greek)
uter/o (Latin)

28. RULES OF PRONUNCIATION

29. Abbreviations Can save time May cause confusion
Acronym = abbreviation formed from first letter of each word in a phrase
ASAP = as soon as possible

30. EXERCISE 3 the longest word in the English language
Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
Draw lines to separate the component parts, then define the words
pneumono/ultra/micro/scopic/silico/volcano/coni/sis

31. ultra = excessive
micro = small
scopic = pertaining to an instrument used to examine
silico = silica
volcano = volcano
pneumo = air or lung
coni = dust
osis = condition of

32. The term refers to a condition of excessively small volcanic and silica dust in the lung.
It is said to be a specific type of pneumoconiosis (a condition of dust in the lungs) such as described at the time of the eruption of Mt. St. Helen’s in May 1980 in Washington State.