1. Copyright ©2012 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Chapter 3 Introduction to Medical Terminology

2. Copyright ©2012 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Origin of Medical Terminology Terms as derived from Greek and Latin words – Romans (Latin) developed medical procedures, diagnoses, and treatments – Greeks developed medical studies

3. Copyright ©2012 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Prefix Found at the beginning of a medical term – (Although, not all words have a prefix) Changes or modifies the word root in the medical term – Indicates a location, presence or absence, quantity, size, frequency, or position When written alone, denoted with a hyphen to the left (example: hyper-)

4. Copyright ©2012 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Suffix Added to the end of a word and completes a medical term Indicates a procedure, condition, disorder, or disease When written alone, denoted with a hyphen to the left (example: -itis)

5. Copyright ©2012 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Word Root/Combining Form Applies to a part of the anatomy Terms can have more than one word root Combining forms are word roots with a vowel added – Makes word easier to pronounce – Most common vowels are “o”, “a”, and “i”

6. Copyright ©2012 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Breaking a Medical Term Apart 1.Identify the meaning of the suffix 2.Identify the meaning of the prefix 3.Determine word roots/combining forms Building a medical term follows the same rules

7. Copyright ©2012 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Building a Medical Term

8. Copyright ©2012 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Building a Medical Term

9. Copyright ©2012 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Why Spelling is Important Medical terms can sound the same or similar; for example, ilium and ileum Misspelling a term can mean the difference in a diagnosis or treatment

10. Copyright ©2012 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Forming Plurals In regular English, add “s” or “es” – Examples: friend > friends; speech > speeches Basic rules for medical terminology SingularPlural -a-ae -is-es -um-a -us-I -ex or –ix-ices -nx-nges