Root Word List One of the most difficult things about studying science (especially biology and medicine) is the many names and terms that seem difficult. Most of them are based on Latin or Greek words. By using the following glossary you may be able to figure the meaning of many of these terms as you come across them, which might help you to understand them and learn them. Keep this packet in your science notebook.

A a- or an- without, lack of, not ab- away from acro- height, extremity acu- needle, sharp ad- toward, near, on aer-, aero- air albu- white alg-, -algia pain allo- different alveol- a cavity ambi-, amphi- both amyl- starch ana- up, back, or apart anemo wind, moving air angio- vessel, case, closed annel ring antho-, -anth flower anthro-, anthropo- human anti- against, opposed to ante-, antero- before, forward apo- away from, separation aqua water arachn- spider arch-, archaeo- ancient, beginning arthro- joint, jointed arteri- artery -ase an enzyme -asis, -osis state of, condition of aster, astro- star atmo- breath audi-, audio- hear auto- self aux- grow, enlarge B bac- rod, stick bentho- depths (of the sea) bi-, bis- double, twice, two bio- life blasto-, -blast germ blephero- eyelid bot- graze, feed brachi- arm brady- slow brevi- short bronchi windpipe bry-, bryo moss or grow C capi-, capit- hair, head calor- heat capsa- a box carb- coal

carcin- tumor cardi- heart carn- flesh carp- (-carp) wrist (fruit) cata- down cauda- stem caus- burn -cele tumor or swelling -centesis puncture, tap centi- hundredth centri- center; at the center cephal- head cereb-, cerebro- brain cervic- neck chiasm- marked crosswise chel- claw chemo- by chemicals chlor- green choano- a funnel chole- bile chondro- cartilage chord string chrom-, chromat- color chym- juice -cide kill, destroy cilia- hair circum- around cocco- berry cochl- snail coelo-, celo- hollow, cavity coit- a coming together coll- glue co-, con-, com-, co- with, together contra- against, opposite corpor-, corpus body cost ribs cotyl cup cranio- head, skull crypto- hidden -cule little cuti- skin cyan- blue cyclo- circle cysto-, cyst- bag cyt-, cyto-, -cyte cell D dactyl- finger de- away from, down from deca- ten deci- tenth deutero- second demi- half demo- people dendr- tree

dent-, -dont teeth derm, dermat- skin -desma- band, bond dextro right (not left, that is) di-, diplo-, dicho- double, two dia- through dino- terrible dis- apart, reversal OR bad dors- back duct lead -dynia pain dys- bad, difficult, painful E e-, ex-, ec- out, away from echino- spiny eco-, oeco- house ecto- outside -elle small em-, en- in, into -emia blood condition enanti- opposite encephalo- brain endo- within enter- intestine epi- upon, on, beside equi- equal ergo-, -rgy energy OR organ erythr- red ex-, extra- outside, beyond eu- true, good F -fer, -ferent carry or bear ferro- iron fibr- fibers fiss- split flagel- whip flex- bend flu-, flux flow foli- (with 1 L) plant, leaf folli- (with 2 L’s) bag, sac for- before -form shaped like -fuge expelling fusi- a spindle G gameto- reproductive cell -gamy marriage ganglio- knot gastro- stomach gen-, -gen, -genesis to produce; born; offspring geo- earth germ seed gest carried -glia glue glob ball glosso-, -glotti tongue gluc-, glyc- sugar, sweet gnath the jaw

gon- sex or seed -graph, -gram writing, description gymn- naked gyn- female H hapl- single helic- a spiral helminth type of worm hemi- half hem-, hemat- blood hepat- liver herb- non-woody plant hetero- unlike; other hiberna- winter histo- tissue homo-, homeo- similar OR man homin- man hormono- excite hydro- water OR hydrogen hyper- over, above, excessive hypo- under, below hystero-, hyst- uterus I ichthy- fish idio- distinct one im-, in-, into, in (OR without) immuno- safe, free infra- below, beneath insula island intra- within inter between -ism condition, doctrine iso- equal, same -ist one who… -ite like, similar to -itis inflamed condition -ize combine with; to treat J & K juxta-, junct near -karyo nucleus kilo- 1000 kino-, kine-, kinesio- move L labi- lips lact- milk lamin- sheet, layer laryng- larynx later- side lepido- a scale leuco-, leuk-, leuko- white liga- bind lingua tongue lipo- fat -lith stone limn- a lake

littor- the seashore loco-, loca- place -logy study of lopho- a crest, tuft lyso-, -lyte, -lysis, lyto- breakdown, dissolve M macro- big, large magna- great, large mal- bad, poor -malacia softening mamm-, mast- breast -mania madness marsupi- bag, pouch med-, medio- middle medulla marrow mega large megaly enlargement meio- less mela-, melano- black mer part meri-, meristo- divide meso- middle meta- beyond/after OR change meter measure mito- thread micro- small mono- one morph form multi- many muta- change myco fungus myelo- spinal cord or bone marrow myo- muscle N narco- stupor, numbness naso- nose necro- death nemato thread neo new neph-, nephro- kidney neuro- nerve neutro- neither nitro- nitrogen noci- harm nocti- night nomo-, -nomy name non- not noto- back nucleo- walnut, kernel

O ob- against oculo- eye -oid, -ous, -ode like, full of, resembling oligo- few olfact- smell -oma tumor omni- all

oo- egg op-, opto-, opthalmo- eye opercul- a covering, lid oro-, ora-, os mouth ortho- straight -osis disease, condition os-, osteo- bone -ostomy, -otomy to make an opening into oscul- a little mouth ot-, oto- ear -ous full of; similar to ovi-, ova- egg P paleo- ancient -palp lip palpit- flutter pan- all para- beside, beyond; or, against par-, paro, -parous to bear, to bring forth path, patho disease, suffer ped- foot (or child, sometimes) paed, paedo- child pelag- the sea -penia decrease per- by, with perfora- bore through peri- around phago-, -phage eat -phas- speak pheno- appear -phil-, attraction to, love phleb, phlebo- vein -phobia fear phone sound -phore carry, bearer photo- light phre- diaphragm OR mind phyll (2 L’s) leaf phylo- (1 L) tribe phyto-, -phyte plant pil-, pilo-, pillo- hair pino- drink placo- a plate plankt-, wandering plas-, -plasia, plasm form, grow -plasty repair, reconstruction platy flat, broad -plegia paralyze pleio- more pluri- many pne-, pneu- breath pneumo- lung, air pod-, podi- foot poie- make poly- many pom apple -pore, poro- passage post- after, behind -potent- powerful pre-, pro- before, in front of, forward procto- anus proto- first pseudo- false

psych- mind -pter- wing -ptosis fall, drop pulmo- lung pyo- pus pyro- fire, fever Q & R quad, quadri- four radio- wheel, spoke, ray re- back, again ren- kidneys retro- backward, located behind -rhea discharge rhin-, rhino- nose rhizo- root S sacchar- sugar salta- leap sapiens thinking sapro- rotten -saur- lizard schiz- split sclero- hard scolio- twisted -scope examine; to show sect- cut semen, semin seed semi- half septic rotted -simi- an ape soma-, somato-, -some body soph wisdom/knowledge -spasm to cramp or convulse speci- type sperm, spermato- seed spiro-, spira- breathe spleno- spleen sporo- seed stamen threads -stasis, -stat, stato- standing, stoppage, balance steno- narrow stimul tease, touch -stom- mouth sub- rear, less than, below super-, supra- above or excessive sym-, syn- similar, with T tachy fast tars ankle, foot taxo- arrangement tele-, telo- end ten to hold fast teno-, tendo- stretching tetan spasm tetra- four therap- treatment -therm, thermo- heat thigmo- a touch

thio- sulfur thorac- chest thrombo- a clot thylaco- sac, pouch thyro- oval shield -tion process of -tom, -tomy cutting topo- place toti- all toxi poison trache- windpipe trans- across, through, beyond tri- three trocho- a wheel tropo-, -trope, -trophy nutrition, growth; or, turning tympan drum turg- swollen U ultra- beyond, excess un- not, back uni- one ur- earliest uro-, -uria tail (or urine)

V vacci- cow vacu- empty vario change vas, vaso- vessel, duct, vein ven- vein ventr- stomach vermi worm vert- to change or turn vestigi- trace viru slime, ooze virul- poisonous vis-, vid- see viv, vivi- living vort-, -volv to change or turn -vore, -vorous eat

X & Z xantho- yellow xero- dry xylo phone zona- a belt zoo- animal zygo- united or yolk zyme ferment, leaven

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