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Scribe America > Basic Medical Terminology > Flashcards

Basic Medical Terminology Flashcards

(63 cards)

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1
Q

Abrasion

A

Scrape of the skin due to something abrasive.

Ab- meaning away from

Think: Pulling to top layer of skin “away from” the rest.

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2
Q

Acute

A

New, usually of rapid onset and of concern, opposite of chronic

Acu/o- meaning sharp; severe; sudden

Think: an acute Illness develops “suddenly” and is “severe”

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3
Q

Ambulate

A

To walk from place to place

Think: the patient was allowed to “ambulate”, or walk around, her room.

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4
Q

Anterior

A

Located towards the front of the body

Anter/o- meaning front

Think: if a baby is OA (Occipital Anterior), the back of his head is facing the mother’s front.

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5
Q

Artery

A

Blood vessel carrying blood away from the heart

Arter/o and Arteri/o- meaning artery

Think: Artery Away (AA)

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6
Q

Benign

A

Normal, of no danger to health

Think: a benign tumor is “of no danger” and is not cancerous or dangerous.

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7
Q

Bradycardia

A

Slow heart-rate (HR less than 60bpm)

Brady- meaning slow
Cardi/o- meaning heart

Think: Bradey has a slow heart.

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8
Q

Cardiomegaly

A

Enlarged heart

Cardi/o- meaning heart
Megaly- meaning enlargement

Think: MEGA heart!!!!!

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9
Q

Cholecystitis

Cho-le-cys-ti-tis

A

Inflammation of the cholecyst (gallbladder)

Cholecyst- meaning gallbladder
-itis- meaning inflammation

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10
Q

Chronic

A

Long-standing, constant. Opposite of acute

Chron/o- meaning time

Think: lasting a long time.

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11
Q

COPD

A

Chronic- meaning long-lasting
Obstructive- meaning causing obstruction
Pulmonary- Pulmon/o- meaning lung
Disease- Impairing normal body function

Lung disease commonly seen in smokers.

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12
Q

Coronary Artery

A

The artery that supplies heart tissue with blood.

Coron/o- meaning crown or circle

Think: the coronary artery encircles the heart.

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13
Q

Cerebrovascular Accident (CVA)

A

A.k.a. Stroke. Lack of blood supply to the brain causing brain damage.

Cerebr/o- meaning cerebrum (largest part of the brain)
Vascul/o- meaning vessel (blood)

Think: an accident where the vessels do not supply enough blood to the brain and cause damage.

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14
Q

Diaphoresis

A

Sweating.

Diaphor/o- meaning sweat
-esis- meaning action; condition; state of

Think: The act or condition of sweating. Sweating like a Dog (D for Diaphoresis)

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15
Q

Distal

A

Farther from the trunk of the body.

dist/o- meaning far; distant

Think: The distal end of the bone is the end farthest from the body.

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16
Q

Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT)

A

A blood clot in a deep vein, most often an extremity.

thromb/o- clot
-sis - state of; condition

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17
Q

Dyspnea

A

Problems with breathing

dys- meaning bad; painful; difficult; abnormal
pnea- meaning breathing

Think: like apnea but instead to stopping breathing, just difficulty breathing.

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18
Q

Dysuria

dis-your-ē-a

A

Painful urination

dys- meaning bad, painful, difficult, or abnormal
-uria- meaning urination; condition of urine

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19
Q

Ecchymosis

ec-chy-mo-sis

A

A bruise

ec- meaning out; outside

Think: a bruise is seen on the outside

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20
Q

Edema

A

Swelling

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21
Q

Emesis

e-me-ses

A

Vomiting

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22
Q

Epistaxis

A

Nose bleed

A Greek word meaning “a dripping”

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23
Q

Erythema/ Erythematous

er-y-them-a-tous

A

Redness/ Red

erythem/o- meaning redness

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24
Q

Febrile

A

Elevated body temperature, fever, indicative of infection.

febr/i- meaning fever

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25
Grossly
Obviously; a lot; wholly Think: “wholly” moley! That is a “gross” amount of candy and you can’t hide it.
26
Hematemesis he-ma-tem-e-sis
Very large amounts of blood in the vomit. hemat/o- meaning blood -emesis- meaning vomiting
27
Hematuria he-ma-tu-ria
Very large amounts of blood in the urine. hemat/o- meaning blood -uria- meaning urination; condition of urine
28
Hemoptysis he-mop-ty-sis
Coughing up very large amounts of blood. hem/o- meaning blood -ptysis- meaning spitting Think: Spitting makes a “pt” sound. Spitting blood= coughing up blood.
29
Hemorrhage
Excessive or profuse bleeding. hem/o- meaning blood -rrhage- meaning bursting forth (of blood)
30
Hepatomegaly he-pa-to-meg-a-ly
Enlarged liver hepat/o- meaning liver -megaly- meaning enlargement Think: “hepat”itis is a disease affecting the liver.
31
Hypertension
High blood pressure hyper- meaning above; excessive -tension- meaning pressure
32
Hypotension
Low blood pressure. hypo- meaning deficient; below; under; less than normal -tension- meaning pressure
33
Hypoxia
Low oxygen saturation of the body, not enough oxygen in the blood. hypo- meaning deficient -oxia- meaning oxygen
34
Infarct
Area of dead tissue after a lack of blood supply. Think: Jimmy didn’t get enough blood supply to his leg after the accident. He’s “farct”!
35
Inferior
Lower on the body, farther from the head.
36
Ischemia
Lack of blood supply. isch/o- meaning to hold back; back -emia- meaning blood condition
37
Laceration
Splitting of the skin due to trauma (a cut due to something sharp).
38
Lateral
Farther from the midline (a line that can be traced from nose to bellybutton). later/o- meaning side
39
Medial
Nearer to the midline. medi/o- meaning middle
40
Melena
Black tarry stools. melan/o- black Think: Melano cookies give you melena.
41
Myocardial Infarction (MI)
Death of cardiac muscle due to ischemia. my/o- meaning muscle cardi/o- meaning heart
42
Myalgia
Muscular pain, “muscle aches”. my/o- meaning muscle -algia- meaning pain
43
Oriented x3
Oriented to person, place, and time.
44
Pallor
Pale skin.
45
Posterior/ Dorsal
Rear or backside of the body. poster/o- meaning back (of body); behind dors/o- meaning back of body Think: Dorsal fin on a shark.
46
Proximal
Nearer to the trunk of the body. proxim/o- meaning near
47
Pruritic pru-rit-ic
Itchy
48
Pulmonary Embolism (PE)
Blocking of pulmonary artery due to blood clot. Pulmon/o- meaning lung -ary- meaning pertaining to
49
Purulent pu-ru-lent
Pus-like purul/o- meaning pus
50
Rales
Crackles; wet crackling noise in lungs.
51
Rhinorrhea
Clear nasal discharge, “runny nose”. Think: Rhinos have a horn on the nose. Nose diarrhea.
52
Rhonchi rän-kī
Rattling noise of mucus in the lungs.
53
Sepsis
Dangerous infection of the blood. -sepsis- meaning putrefaction
54
STEMI
ST elevation MI, real-time ongoing death of heart tissue due to ischemia.
55
Superior
Higher on the body, nearer to the head.
56
Supine
Body position lying face up.
57
Syncope
“Passing out”, loss of consciousness or fainting. syncop/o- meaning to cut off; faint
58
Tachycardia
Fast heart rate (HR greater than 100bpm). tachy- meaning fast cardi/o- meaning heart
59
Tachypnea
Increased breathing rate. tachy- meaning fast -pnea- meaning breathing
60
Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA)
Minor stroke; where neurological function is regained quickly with time.
61
Vein
Blood vessel carrying blood towards the heart. Think: opposite of artery.
62
Vertigo
Condition of dizziness, “room spinning.”
63
Wheezing
High pitched sound heard in the lungs with asthmatics or lung disease.

Scribe America (4 decks)

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