1. Prefixes and Suffixes
Chapters 2 & 3

2. Color Coding of word parts:
From now on you will see:
all WORD ROOTS highlighted in PURPLE
all COMBINING VOWELS highlighted in RED
all SUFFIXES highlighted in BLUE
all PREFIXES highlighted in GREEN

3. Medical Terms that are constructed from parts
To review, medical terms that are constructed from parts may include:
Word Roots
Prefixes
Suffixes
One or more Combining Vowels (usually an “o” or an “i”

4. Prefix: a beginning Always attaches to the BEGINNING of a word
**IMPORTANT NOTE: The meaning of a prefix always remains the same.

5. PREFIXES: Prefixes express:
Numbers, measurements, position, direction, negatives, and color

6. Prefixes that express NUMBERS:
Bi- Tri- Uni- Primi- Semi- Tetra- Quadri- Milli-

7. Prefixes that express MEASUREMENTS:
Hyper-
Hyp/hypo-
Multi-
Poly-

8. Prefixes that express POSITION or DIRECTION
Ab-
Ad-
Ambi-
Ante-
Circum-
Endo-

9. Prefixes that express COLOR:
albino-
Cyan-
chlor-
Erythr-
Leuk-
Melan/o-
Cirrh/o-

10. Prefixes that express NEGATIVES:
An-
Ana-
Anti-
Contra-
Dis-

11. Suffix: an ending Always attaches to the END of a word
Makes a word a noun or an adjective
**IMPORTANT NOTE: The meaning of a suffix always remains the same.

12. Suffixes:
Suffixes usually make a word a:
Noun or an adjective

13. Let’s look at more Noun Suffixes!
Examples: Cyanoderma Radiographer Psychologist Albinism
These suffixes make words into Nouns: -a -er -ist -ism

14. Suffixes- Adjective endings
In medical terminology, suffixes are what change a word to be an adjective (or a noun, as we saw earlier). What follows next is a list of the most common “Adjective Suffixes”

15. Suffixes – Adjective endings
-ac -al -ar -ic -ical -ile -ory -ous -tic
All of these suffixes mean the same thing: PERTAINING TO

16. Let’s see them used in examples:
-ac -al -ar -ic -ical -ile -ory -ous -tic
“cardiac” = pertaining to the heart “duodenal” = pertaining to the duodenum “ventricular” = pertaining to the ventricle “thoracic” = pertaining to the thorax “neurological” = pertaining to the nerves/brain “febrile” = pertaining to fever “auditory” = pertaining to hearing “venous” = pertaining to veins “cyanotic” = pertaining to blueness

17. Pronunciation Practice
Apnea Hemiplegia Intercostal Intravenous Primigravida Anemia Osteoblast Epilepsy Tonometry
Hemolytic Autism Arachnophobia Lipoma Lithotripsy Colostomy Dyspnea

18. The End