Medcal Terminology at a Glance
Medical Terminology at a Glance
Studying medical terminology is like learning a new language
Basic rules for building terms will help you both build and translate many different words
You must be able to put words together or build words from their parts
Like piecing together a puzzle
Understanding Medical Terms
It is impossible to memorize all of the thousands of medical terms
You can distinguish the meaning of many different words by analyzing the word parts
Word roots
Combining forms
Prefixes
Suffixes
Figure 1.1
Nurse completing a patient report. Healthcare workers use medical terminology in order to accurately and efficiently communicate patient information to each other.
Basic Word Parts
Word root is the fundamental meaning of the term
Prefixes and suffixes modify the word root
Combining vowels connect other word parts
Always exceptions to rules
Medical Terms Are Built from Word Parts
Word Part
Word root
Prefix
Suffix
Combining form
Example (Meaning)
cardiogram (record of the heart) pericardium (around the heart) carditis (inflammation of the heart) cardiomyopathy (heart muscle disease)
Word Root
Foundation of the term
General meaning of word
Often gives body system or part cardi = heart
Or may be an action cis = to cut
Word Root
Medical terms may have more than one root osteoarthritis Medical terms may be built without a word root hyper- = prefix meaning excessive
-trophy = suffix meaning development hypertrophy = excessive development Combining Vowels
Make it possible to pronounce long terms
Usually an “o”
Combine two word parts:
Between two word roots
Between word root and suffix
Combining Vowel Rules
Between word root and suffix
If the suffix begins with a vowel
Do not use a combining vowel
Arthritis, not arthroitis
If the suffix begins with a consonant
Use a combining vowel
Arthroscope, not arthrscope
Combining Vowel Rules
Combining vowel is typically kept between two word
Studying medical terminology is like learning a new language
Basic rules for building terms will help you both build and translate many different words
You must be able to put words together or build words from their parts
Like piecing together a puzzle
Understanding Medical Terms
It is impossible to memorize all of the thousands of medical terms
You can distinguish the meaning of many different words by analyzing the word parts
Word roots
Combining forms
Prefixes
Suffixes
Figure 1.1
Nurse completing a patient report. Healthcare workers use medical terminology in order to accurately and efficiently communicate patient information to each other.
Basic Word Parts
Word root is the fundamental meaning of the term
Prefixes and suffixes modify the word root
Combining vowels connect other word parts
Always exceptions to rules
Medical Terms Are Built from Word Parts
Word Part
Word root
Prefix
Suffix
Combining form
Example (Meaning)
cardiogram (record of the heart) pericardium (around the heart) carditis (inflammation of the heart) cardiomyopathy (heart muscle disease)
Word Root
Foundation of the term
General meaning of word
Often gives body system or part cardi = heart
Or may be an action cis = to cut
Word Root
Medical terms may have more than one root osteoarthritis Medical terms may be built without a word root hyper- = prefix meaning excessive
-trophy = suffix meaning development hypertrophy = excessive development Combining Vowels
Make it possible to pronounce long terms
Usually an “o”
Combine two word parts:
Between two word roots
Between word root and suffix
Combining Vowel Rules
Between word root and suffix
If the suffix begins with a vowel
Do not use a combining vowel
Arthritis, not arthroitis
If the suffix begins with a consonant
Use a combining vowel
Arthroscope, not arthrscope
Combining Vowel Rules
Combining vowel is typically kept between two word