Medical TerminologyBasics

Medical Terminology Knowledge

Health care workers need to know many medical terms in order to do their

jobs well.

TAKE THIS DOWN IN YOUR NOTES, PLEASE!

There are 4 categories of

medical terms:

Constructed terms

Eponyms

Abbreviations

Acronyms

CONSTRUCTED TERMSMedical terms made

up of several distinct parts.

EPONYMSMedical Terms named after the people who discovered a disease or scientific process.

Example: “Pasteurization” is an Eponym named after the scientist Louis Pasteur.

ABBREVIATIONSShort versions of longer words.

For example:

Histo is the short version of the word:

Histology ,which means the

“study of tissues”

ABBREVIATIONSAnother example:

Stat is the short version of the word:

Statim, which is a Latin

word that means “immediately”

ACRONYMSWords created from the first letter of each word found in

a group of words.

For example: “SOB” stands for:

“Short Of Breath.”

What are the four major types of Medical Terms? Constructed terms

Eponyms

Abbreviations

Acronyms

Constructed TermsThe most prevalent type of medical terms

Words made up of several parts. . .

Constructed Terms are:

Biology

. . .such as this common word:

Bio + logy = Biology

The first part is:

The second part is:

Bio-

-logy

How would you define: “Biology” from its parts?

Bio- means:

-logy means:

Life, Living Things

(the) Study of

“The study of Life and Living things”

Biology is defined as:

This means we are actually taking apart words, defining the meaning of the individual parts, and building a whole definition based on the meanings of the parts.

Word parts can include:

Prefixes Word Roots Suffixes Combining Vowels

Comprehension Check- What do we call

medical terms that are built by connecting word parts/word elements?

Constructed Terms

Comprehension Check- What word parts/word

elements are typically used to build constructed terms?

Word Roots Prefixes Suffixes Combining vowels

Let’s look at another constructed medical term, “Physiology”.

Physi/o/logy =

Physi = nature (word root)-logy = the study of (suffix)

Defined as: The study of nature

Did you notice in the last word, physiology, that there is a vowel– “o”—that stands alone?

This is called the combining vowel.

What are the two word parts?Word root =

Suffix =

Physi

-logy

What does each word part mean?Physi =

-logy =

Nature

(the) study of

So, in the word physiology, how does the vowel— “o”– function? It isn’t part of the word root or the suffix.

Remember:Physi: (word root) = “Nature”-logy: (suffix) = “the study of”

What about the “o”? Why is the “o” even there?

The vowel– “o”– functions as a connector between the word root, Physi, and the suffix, -logy.

We need to add the vowel “o” because the suffix—logy, begins with a consonant letter, “L.”

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”

Medical Terms that are constructed from parts

Word roots, prefixes, suffixesLet’s learn about each

of these things separately.

First: Word Roots.

The Word Root is the basic foundation of a constructed medical term

It usually tells about a body part/system

Word Root: the Foundation

Example word root

CARDI = HEARTThe meaning of “cardi” will never change!

But it isn’t a complete word. We need to add more parts to make it more meaningful.

We must add a suffix (ending). . . and. . .

…we might add a prefix, but not necessarily in every case.

Cardi = HEART

Here is a common suffix

-LOGY = The study/knowledge of

The suffix –logy can be added to many word roots, including: “Cardi”

. . .but something is still missing. . .

+

Because the suffix (-logy) begins with a consonant letter- “L”- we need to put a combining vowel between the suffix “logy” and the word root “cardi”.

The best combining vowel to use here is:

What is missing?

Pronounced: Car-dee-ah-la-gee

The study/knowledge of the heart

So, “cardiology” must mean:

Is “logy” the only suffix that we can add onto the word root “cardi”?

Of course not! There are quite a number of different suffixes that can be added to any word root, including “cardi.”

Do you think we need a combining vowel between “cardi” & “itis”?

?

No combining vowel is needed because the suffix – “itis” already begins with a vowel, “i”.

So, we don’t add an “o” to combine “cardi” and “itis”, AND . . .

We can combine the “i” of “cardi” and the “i” from “itis”. So, “Carditis.” which means: “inflammation of the heart.”

We’ve talked about:Word Roots

SuffixesCombining Vowels

Now let’s talk aboutPREFIXES

Always attaches to the BEGINNING of a word

**IMPORTANT NOTE: The meaning of a prefix always remains the same.

Prefix: a beginning

Example: endo always means “within” no matter what it attaches to.

Look at the words: endothelium, endocarditis, endotracheal, endoscope

In all of these words, endo- always means “within”.

*****IMPORTANT NOTE*****Not all medical terms (words)

have prefixes!

Prefixes are added to the beginning of some word roots to provide more

specific meaning.

Let’s add the prefix “endo” to the word “carditis.”

Again we combine the “i” from “cardi”with the “i” from “itis”, and then add the prefix “endo,” giving us: “Endocarditis”

“Carditis” means “Inflammation of the Heart.” “Endocarditis” means “Inflammation within

the heart.”

Comprehension Checker-

◦Prefixes are placed where?

◦Suffixes are placed where?

◦Combining vowels are used when?

at the beginning of words

at the end of word roots

when the suffix begins with a consonant letter

The End