1. Chapter 4
Prefixes
Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2005, 2003, 1999, 1991 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

2. Learning Objectives
Identify and define common prefixes used in medical terms.
Analyze, spell, and pronounce medical terms that contain prefixes.
Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2005, 2003, 1999, 1991 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

3. Prefixes
a-, an- no, not, without ab- away from ad- toward, near ana- up, apart ante- before, forward
Discuss the definitions of the terms.
Apnea: not able to breathe
Analysis: separating a substance into its components parts
What are some other examples of words with the prefixes listed above?
Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2005, 2003, 1999, 1991 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

4. anti- against bi- two, both brady- slow con- with, together
Prefixes (cont.)
anti- against bi- two, both brady- slow con- with, together
Discuss the definitions of the terms.
Bradycardia: slow heartbeat
Congenital: irregularity present at birth
What are some other examples of words with the prefixes listed above?
Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2005, 2003, 1999, 1991 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

5. dia- complete, through dys- bad, painful, difficult, abnormal
Prefixes (cont.)
dia- complete, through dys- bad, painful, difficult, abnormal
Discuss the definitions of the terms.
Diarrhea: discharge of watery wastes from the colon
Dysplasia: abnormality of the development or the formation of cells
What are some other examples of words with the prefixes listed above?
Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2005, 2003, 1999, 1991 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

6. Prefixes (cont.)
ec- out, outside endo- within, in, inner epi- above, upon ex- out extra- outside of
Discuss the definition of the term.
Excision: act of cutting out, removing, or resecting
What are some other examples of words with the prefixes listed above?
Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2005, 2003, 1999, 1991 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

7. Prefixes (cont.)
hemi- half hyper- excessive, too much, above hypo- deficient, too little, below
Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2005, 2003, 1999, 1991 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

8. Prefixes (cont.)
in- in, into inter- between intra- within mal- bad meta- change, beyond
Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2005, 2003, 1999, 1991 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

9. Prefixes (cont.)
neo- new para- beside, near, along the side of peri- surrounding poly- many, much
Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2005, 2003, 1999, 1991 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

10. Prefixes (cont.)
post- after, behind pre- before pro- before, forward pros- before, forward
Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2005, 2003, 1999, 1991 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

11. Prefixes (cont.)
quadri- four re- back, behind retro- back, behind sub- under, less than syn- with, together
Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2005, 2003, 1999, 1991 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

12. tachy- fast trans- across, through tri- three ultra- beyond uni- one
Prefixes (cont.)
tachy- fast trans- across, through tri- three ultra- beyond uni- one
Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2005, 2003, 1999, 1991 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

13. Additional Medical Terms
Adrenal glands: endocrine glands located above each kidney
Antibiotic: destroys or inhibits the growth of microorganisms such as bacteria
Antigen: foreign substance, such as bacteria and viruses
What is the function of adrenal glands?
What is adrenaline? What is another name for the term?
What was the first antibiotic? (penicillin)
What do antigens do when they enter the body?
Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2005, 2003, 1999, 1991 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

14. Additional Medical Terms (cont.)
Bradycardia: slow heartbeat
Congenital Anomaly: an irregularity in a structure or organ that an infant is born with
Dialysis: removing harmful waste products from the body with an artificial kidney machine (dialysis machine)
Bradycardia would suggest a pulse of less than how many beats per minute? (60)
What are some examples of congenital anomalies?
What are some causes of nonhereditary congenital anomalies?
Define hemodialysis. (Waste materials are separated from the blood by a machine.)
Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2005, 2003, 1999, 1991 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

15. Additional Medical Terms (cont.)
Ectopic pregnancy: an abnormal pregnancy when the embryo implants outside the uterus, usually in the fallopian tubes, but sometimes on an ovary or in the abdominal cavity
Parathyroid glands: four endocrine glands located on the dorsal side of the thyroid gland that function separately from the thyroid gland
Prolapse: to fall or slide forward, often used to describe an organ, such as a prolapsed uterus
What is the function of parathyroid hormone? The parathyroid hormone (PTH) is secreted by the parathyroid glands. This hormone mobilizes calcium from bones into the bloodstream, where calcium is necessary for proper functioning of body tissues, especially muscles.
Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2005, 2003, 1999, 1991 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

16. Additional Medical Terms (cont.)
Retroperitoneal: pertaining to behind the peritoneum; the kidneys and adrenal glands are retroperitoneal organs
Syndrome: a group of signs or symptoms that commonly occur together and indicate a particular disease or abnormal condition
Subcutaneous: lower layer of the skin composed of fatty tissue
Name a syndrome and ask students to list the symptoms.*
Examples:
Syndrome: acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)
Symptoms: severe infections, malignancy (Kaposi sarcoma and lymphoma), fever, malaise (discomfort), and gastrointestinal disturbances. It is caused by a virus that damages lymphocytes (white blood cells).
Syndrome: Barlow syndrome (mitral valve prolapse)
Symptoms: abnormal sounds (murmurs) heard from the chest when listening with a stethoscope. These murmurs indicate that the mitral valve is not closing properly. Chest pain, dyspnea (difficult breathing), and fatigue are other symptoms.
*More examples can be found in Table 4-4 on page 144 of text.
Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2005, 2003, 1999, 1991 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

17. Additional Medical Terms (cont.)
Tachycardia: condition of fast, rapid heart beat
Transurethral: when an instrument passes through the urethra
Ultrasonography: a diagnostic technique using ultrasound waves to produce an image or photograph of an organ or tissue
Tachycardia would suggest a pulse of faster than how many beats per minute? (100)
What is an echocardiogram? Images of the heart produced by introducing high-frequency sound waves through the chest into the heart. The sound waves are reflected back from the heart, and echoes showing heart structure are displayed on a recording machine. It is a highly useful diagnostic tool in the evaluation of diseases of the valves that separate the heart chambers and diseases of the heart muscle.
Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2005, 2003, 1999, 1991 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

18. Medical Scramble I N G B N E S Y R A D I U L E O A T N A N
Harmless, not cancerous
I N G B N E
Painful uination
S Y R A D I U
Pertaining to a newborn
L E O A T N A N
Unscramble the letters to form medical terms from the clues. Use the underlined letters to complete the bonus term.
1. BENIGN
2. DYSURIA
3. NEONATAL
Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2005, 2003, 1999, 1991 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

19. Medical Scramble (cont.)
SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome)
N E A A P
Organs shrink in size
P Y A R T O H
Unscramble the letters to form medical terms from the clues. Use the underlined letters to complete the bonus term.
4. APNEA
5. ATROPHY
Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2005, 2003, 1999, 1991 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

20. Medical Scramble
Bonus Term: Foreign protein that causes an immune response (Hint: This protein is often part of bacteria and viruses and evokes production of antibodies.) G I E N N A T
Use the underlined letters from the previous words to complete the bonus term.
The bonus term is ANTIGEN.
Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2005, 2003, 1999, 1991 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.