Chapter 1 Flashcards
ilium
a part of the hip bone
ileum
refers to a part of the small intestine
urethra
the tube leading from the urinary bladder to the outside of the body
ureter
is one of two tubes, each leading from a single kidney and inserting into the urinary bladder
root
the foundation of the word
ex: hemat/o/logy
in this case hemat is the root
suffix
->the word ending
->ex: hemat/o/logy
in this case “logy” means process of study
It is useful to read the meaning of medical terms starting from the suffix and then going back to the beginning of the term
true
Electrocardiogram
- > Electr= root (electricity)
- > o= combining vowel
- > cardi= root (heart)
- > o= combining vowel
- > gram= suffix (record)
=record of electricity in the heart
gastritis
- > gastr = root (stomach)
- > itis= suffix (inflammation)
=inflammation of the stomach
gastroenterology
- > gastr = root (stomach)
- > enter= root (intestines)
- > logy= suffix (process of study)
process of study of the stomach and intestines
When a term contains two or more roots related to parts of the body, anatomic position often determines which root goes before the other. For example, the stomach receives food first, before the small intestine—so the word is formed as gastroenterology
true
3 general rules
- read the meaning of medical terms from the suffix back to the beginning of the term and across
- drop the combining vowel, usually “o”, before a suffix beginning with a vowel: gastritis…. NOT “gastroitis”
- keep the combining vowel between 2 roots
combining form
this is simply the root plus the combining vowel.
ex: Hemat/o means blood
* combining form= root + combining vowel
ex:Gastr/o means stomach
prefix
is a small part attached to the beginning of a term
-> not all medical terms contain prefixes
ex: Hypogastric
-Hypo= prefix (below)
-Gastr= root (stomach)
-Ic= suffix (pertaining to)
= pertaining to below the stomach
ex: Epigastric
-Epi= prefix (above)
-Gastr= root (stomach)
-Ic= suffix (pertaining to)
= pertaining to above the stomach
Summary: important parts of a medical term include the following
- Root: foundation of the term
- Suffix: word ending
- Prefix: word beginning
- Combining Vowel: vowel (usually o) that links the root to the suffix or the root to another root
- Combining Form: combination of the root and the combining vowel
aden/o
Meaning: gland
Example:
-adenoma: the suffix -OMA means tumor or mass
-adenitis: the suffix -ITIS means inflammation
arthr/o
Meaning: joint
Example:
-arthritis: inflammation of the joint
bi/o
Meaning: life
Example:
-biology: The suffix -LOGY is composed of the root log (study) and the final suffix -y (process or condition)
-biopsy: The suffix -OPSY means process of viewing. Living tissue is removed from the body and viewed under a microscope
carcin/o
Meaning: cancerous, cancer
Example:
-carcinoma: Cancerous tumor.
cardi/o
Meaning: heart
Example:
-cardiology
cephal/o
Meaning: head
Example:
-Cephalic: The suffix -ICK means pertaining to. A cephalic presentation describes a “head first” position for the delivery of an infant
cerebrovascular accident
Meaning: Stroke
Cerebr/o
Meaning: Cerebrum (largest part of the brain)
Example:
-cerebral: The suffix -AL means pertaining to
cis/o
Meaning: To cut
Example:
-incision: The prefix -IN means into, and the suffix -ION means process
-excision: The prefix -EX means out