Medical hatchet is language supplied to describe anatomical structures, procedures, conditions, processes, and treatments. While clinical terms may show up intimidating at an initial glance, when the an easy word structure is understood and the interpretations of some usual word facets are memorized, the meaning of thousands of medical terms have the right to be conveniently parsed.
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Most clinical terms adhere come a solved structure the a prefix, root, and suffix. This word contents are assembled like building blocks to create a substantial vocabulary.
Greeks are thought about the founders of rational medicine and also medical terms are primarily derived from Greek and also Latin.1 end centuries, the language of medicine has evolved into many national clinical languages. Today, medical English is the dominant language for global communication. Most prominent medical journals space written in English and also it has become the language of an option at international conferences.2
Basic Structure
Medical state are comprised of these typical word parts:
Prefix: once included, the prefix shows up at the beginning of a clinical term and also usually indicates a location, direction, type, quality, or quantity. Root: The root offers a hatchet its crucial meaning. Virtually all clinical terms contain at the very least one root. Once a prefix is absent, the term starts with a root. Suffix: The suffix shows up at the end of a term and may indicate a specialty, test, procedure, function, disorder, or status. Otherwise, it may simply define whether words is a noun, verb, or adjective. Combining Vowel: A combining collection (usually the letter “o”) might be added between word parts to assist in pronunciation.Breaking a word down to that is component components should aid readers determine the an interpretation of an unfamiliar term. For example, hypothermia has actually the prefix hypo- (below normal), source therm (heat), and suffix -ia (condition).
Word Roots
A root is the foundational facet of any medical term. Roots frequently indicate a body part or system.
Common word roots:
| brain | enceph |
| ear | ot, aur |
| eardrum | tympan, myring |
| eye | ophthalm, ocul |
| face | faci |
| nose | rhin |
| skull | crani |
| tongue | lingu |
| tooth | odont, dent |
| aorta | aort |
| arteries | arteri |
| blood | hem, sangu |
| blood vessels | angi |
| heart | cardi |
| veins | ven, phleb |
| arm | brachi |
| back | dorsa |
| bones | oste |
| foot | pod, ped |
| muscles | myo |
| rib | cost |
| shoulder | scapul |
| wrist | carp |
| appendix | append |
| colon | col |
| esophagus | esophag |
| intestine (usually small) | inter |
| kidney | ren, neph |
| liver | hepat |
| stomach | gastr |
| cancer | carci |
| drug | chem |
| electric | electr |
| heat | therm |
| knowledge | gnos |
| life | bi |
| pressure | bar |
| returned sound | echo |
Compound Words
A clinical word may encompass multiple roots. This commonly occurs as soon as referencing much more than one body component or system. Because that example, cardio-pulmo-nary means pertaining to the heart and lungs; gastro-entero-logy means the study of the stomach and intestines.
Combining Forms
When a source is complied with by an additional word component that begins with a consonant, a combining collection (usually the letter ‘o’) is added after the root (e.g. Neur-o-logy) to assist pronunciation. The root and also vowel with each other (e.g. Neur-o) are referred to as the combining form. For simplicity, combining vowel options are omitted from the word part tables.
Prefixes
A prefix modifies the definition of words root. The may suggest a location, type, quality, body category, or quantity. The prefix is optional and does not show up in all medical terms.
Common prefixes:
| large | macro-, mega(lo)- |
| small | micro- |
| half | semi- |
| half (one side) | hemi- |
| one | mono-, uni- |
| two | three | four | bi- | tri- | quad(ri)- |
| equal | equi- |
| many | poly- |
| above normal | hyper- |
| below normal | hypo- |
| normal/good | eu- |
| after | post- |
| again | re- |
| back/backward | retro- |
| before | pro-, pre-, ante- |
| fast | tachy- |
| new | neo- |
| time, long time | chron- |
| slow | brady- |
| away from | ab- |
| above | supra- |
| around | peri- |
| across | trans- |
| between | inter- |
| out of, outside | ex-, ec(t)- |
| self | auto- |
| through, completely | dia- |
| together | con- |
| toward | ad- |
| within, inside | end(o)- |
| against | anti-, contra- |
| bad | mal- |
| cause | eti- |
| self | auto- |
| without | a-, de- |
| abnormal, bad | dys- |
Suffixes
Medical terms always end through a suffix.3 The suffix usually shows a specialty, test, procedure, function, condition/disorder, or status. Because that example, “itis” means inflammation and “ectomy” means removal.
Alternatively, the suffix might simply make words a noun or adjective. The endings -a, -e, -um, and also -us are typically used to develop a singular noun (e.g. Crani-um).
Though the suffix shows up at the end of the term, it regularly comes very first in the definition. For example, appendicitismeans: inflammation (-itis) the the appendix.4 Accordingly, it is sometimes helpful to review unfamiliar medical terms from ideal to left.
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Occasionally, a clinical term might be consisted of of a prefix and also suffix. For example, apnea includes the prefix a- (without) and suffix -pnea (breathing).
Common suffix (letters in parenthesis space not always present):
| (noun form) | -a, -e, -um, -is |
| causing | -genic |
| condition | -ia, -ism, -sis, -y |
| specialty | -iatry, -iatrics, -ics |
| specialist | -ian, -ist |
| structure | -um, -us |
| study of | -logy |
| pertaining to | -ac, -ar(y), -(e/i)al, -ic(al), -ior, -ory,, -ous, -tic |
| removal of | -ectomy |
| image/record | -gram |
| recording instrument | -graph(y) |
| cut in | -otomy |
| visual examination | -scopy |
| opening | -stomy |
| blood (condition of) | -emia |
| breathing | -pnea |
| inflammation | -itis |
| condition or disease | -osis |
| deficiency | -penia |
| disease | -pathy |
| excessive flow | -rrhag(e/ia) |
| mass, tumor | -oma |
Plural Forms
The enhancement of an “s” or “es” to the finish of a native is regularly the straightforward an approach to do a word plural in English and also many modern-day Romance languages. In clinical terminology, however, things space a little much more complicated. The plural kind of each word is based upon the last 2 letters of the singular suffix.
There are number of exceptions. Because that example, virus is a Latin term without a plural form. “Viruses” is the accepted plural form. Elsewhere, the suffix “s” or “es” has actually occasionally dominated in common usage. For example, the plural form of “hematoma” is “hematomas” fairly than “hematomata.”
Common singluar endings and corresponding plural endings:
| Singular | Plural |
| a | ae |
| en | ina |
| ex, ix, yx | ices |
| is | es |
| ma | mata |
| (a/i/y)nx | nges |
| um | a |
| us | i(i) |
Additional resources: