Foundation of Medicine

Medical Terminology Lec 1 Professor Dr Monem Alshok 2016 – 2017
Most Medical Terms come from Greek ( Diagnosis & Surgery ) or Latin Language (Anatomical terms) Basic Elements of a Medical Word include (These four parts of a word are known as ELEMENTS): Word Root , Combining Form , Suffix , Prefix
Word Root : Main part or foundation of a word. All words have at least one word root. A word root may be used alone or combined with other elements to form a complete word. The word root usually refers to a body part. Some root words are derived from the Latin or Greek language. e. g. SPEAK (word root) + ER (suffix) = SPEAKER (complete word),Teacher ( Root is Teach , er Suffix one who ) . Rheumatologist . ( Rheumat ( o ) Root , logy science , ist suffix one who ) “dent” means tooth Dentist “dermat” means skin Dermatology “cardi” means heart Cardiac “gastr” means stomach gastritis “pancreat” means pancreas pancreatitis
Word Root Examples:

Word Analysis Meaning Root Latin or Greek
Dermatitis Skin Dermat Dermatos ( G )
Nephrectomy Kidney Nephr Nephros ( G )
Stomatitis Mouth Stomat Stoma ( G )
subcutenous skin Cutane Cutis ( L )
oral mouth or Oris ( L )
Renal Kidney ren Renes ( L )

Combining Forms: Correct pronunciation of medical words is important. In order to make the pronunciation of word roots easier, sometimes it is necessary to insert a vowel after the root. The combination of a word root and a vowel is known as a COMBINING FORM. Combining forms consist of a combining vowel. The combining vowel is usually an “o”, but others may be used. e.g. : gastr / o pronounced GASTRO . When a word has more than one root, a combining vowel is used to link the root to each other. e.g. : osteoarthritis oste/ o / arthr/ itis Cardiomyopathy Cardi / o / Myo/ pathy
Word-Building System: By understanding the meanings of word roots, one can determine the meaning of complex medical terms by putting together the smaller parts Example .( Leukocytopenia ) : Word Roots: Leuk / (white) cyt / (cell) Combining Vowel / o Suffix / penia (decrease)
Suffixes: A suffix is added to the END of a word root or combining form to modify its meaning. By adding a suffix to the end of a word root, we create a noun or adjective with a different meaning.
A combining vowel is used between a word root and a suffix that begins with a consonant (not a vowel).This is to make pronunciation easier.
The Term Scleroderma ( Word root: scler / (hardening) Suffix:/ derma (skin) Term: Scler / o / derma (hardening of the skin)
Word root: Hepat / ( Liver ) Hepatitis= inflammation of liver
Meanings of certain suffixes :
-al pertaining to Ment/al ( pertaining to brain )
-er one who speaker (one who speaks)
-oma (tumor) hematoma (blood tumor) NOTE: The element that comes before a suffix can either be a word root or combining form.
The suffixes
-scope (instrument to view) , -rrhexis (rupture) , -rrhea (flow or discharge) e. g. Rhinorrhea , all begin with a consonant, therefore a combining vowel must be used between the word root and the suffix.
The suffixes
-algia (pain)
-edema (swelling)
-uria (urine, urination)
These suffixes begin with a vowel, therefore a combining vowel is NOT used between the word root and the suffix.
A combining vowel is used to link one root to another root, and before a suffix that begins with a consonant. A combining vowel is NOT used before a suffix that begins with a vowel.
A prefix: Prefix is a syllable or syllables placed BEFORE a word or word root to alter its meaning or create a new word. Some prefixes:
Hyper- (excessive) Pre- (before) Post- (after) Homo- (same) Hypo- (under) Hypo /Low glyc /Suger emia/ Blood :
Defining Medical Words: Here are the three basic rules for defining medical words using the example term gastroenteritis.
Rule No. 1 Define the suffix, or last part of the word. In this case, -itis, which means inflammation. Rule No. 2 Define the first part of the word (which may be a word root, combining form, or prefix). In this case, the combining form gastr/o means stomach. Rule No. 3 Define the middle parts of the word. In this case, enter/ means intestine When you analyze gastroenteritis following the three previous rules, the meaning is revealed as: 1. inflammation (of) 2. stomach (and) 3. Intestine Thus, the definition of gastroenteritis is “inflammation (of) stomach (and) intestine.”
Tests Questions Choose one correct choice : Q1 . All Medical Terms have : A.Suffix B.Prefix C.Root D.Vowel Q2 . The Word Root in Tonsillitis is A . –itis B. Tonsill- C . –sill Q3 . The suffix in Physiology is ; A . Logy B . physi- C . ( O ) Q 4 . Divide into components of word part
Suffix Combining Vowel Root Medical Terms
Cardiology
Histology
Mammography
Bronchoscopy
Pneumonia
Arthritis
Oncology
Inguinal
Q5 . Fasciotomy is an example of A . Simple Word B . Compound word C . Combining word Q6 . When you make Analysis of the word begin with:A . Beginning B . End of word C .Middle of word Q 7 . Adding Vowel to the word results in A . Prefix B . Suffix C . Combining form D . Complex word Q 8 . The term Gastroenterology has : A . Two Root B . One Root C . Three root
Q 9 . One combination do not need a combining Vowel : A . Dermat + it is B . Dermat + logy C . Micr + Scopy Q10 . Which one of the following symbols used when we divide the medical term into their word parts ?
A . / B . = C . ----- D . ;