An Introduction to Medical Terminology: Prefixes, Suffixes, and Combining Forms
This document provides an overview of medical terminology. It begins by defining key elements of medical words such as prefixes, suffixes, roots, and combining forms. In summary, this document serves as an introduction to medical terminology by defining the basic structures of medical words and providing many examples of prefixes, suffixes, and roots.
Basic Elements of the Medical Word
The basic elements of the medical word include the Prefix, Combining Form, Suffix, Root, and Combining vowel. A disease may be described by a phrase or one word in English, Latin, or Greek. The document concludes with instructions on analyzing and building medical terms from their component word parts.
Case Study: Analyzing Polydactyly
To understand medical construction, consider the word poly/dactyl/y. Dactyl/o is a combining form for “finger” or “toe”. Here is the word breakdown:
- Poly- is a prefix that means “many”.
- Dactyl is a word root that pertains to “finger” or “toe”.
- -y is a suffix that refers to “condition”.
Definition: A polydactyly is a condition in which one or more fingers or toes are present on either the hand or the foot.
Categorized Examples of Medical Prefixes
The following lists define numerous examples of prefixes pertaining to various topics like anatomy, pathology, procedures, and body systems.
Prefixes Pertaining to Numbers
- Mon/o-, Uni-: One, Single (Example: Monoclonal, Unicellular)
- Duo-, Bi-, Di-: Two, Twice (Example: Bicuspid, Diplegia)
- Tri-: Three (Example: Triad)
- Multi-, Poly-: Many, much (Example: Multiple, Polymorphic)
Prefixes Pertaining to Position and Direction
- Ab-: Away from (Example: Abnormal)
- Ad-: Toward, near (Example: Adrenal gland)
- End/o: In, inside (Example: Endoscope)
- Epi-: Above (Example: Epigastric)
- Ex/o: Away from, outside (Example: Exophthalamos)
- Sub-: Under (Example: Subgastric)
Prefixes Pertaining to Colors
- Cyan/o: Blue (Example: Cyanosis)
- Erythr/o: Red (Example: Erythrocyte)
- Leuk/o, Alb/i: White, colorless (Example: Leukocyte, Albinism)
- Melan/o: Black (Example: Melanin)
- Xanth/o: Yellow (Example: Xanthoma)
Prefixes Pertaining to Size and Disease
- Macro-, Mega-: Large, abnormally large (Example: Macroscopic, Megabladder)
- Micro-: Small (Example: Micro-organism)
- Brady-: Slow (Example: Bradycardia)
- Tachy-: Rapid (Example: Tachypnea)
- Dys-: Painful, difficult, abnormal (Example: Dyspnea)
- a-, an-: Not, without, lack of (Example: Apnea)