Chapter 3: Anatomy and Physiology

Question 1

Three parts of a medical term

Answer 1

Prefix: Descriptive part of the medical term that forms the beginning of the word and describes characteristics such as location, direction, number, quantity, size.

Question 2

Prefix

Answer 2

Descriptive part of the medical term that forms the beginning of the word and describes characteristics such as location, direction, number, quantity, size.

Question 3

Root

Answer 3

Subject of the medical term that incorporates a vowel like “o”

• Often pertains to a body part or system
• Forms middle of the word when prefix is present
• When there is no suffix, the root forms the first part of the word.

Question 4

Suffix

Answer 4

Brings meaning to the medical term and forms end of the word

• indicates disease, disorder, condition, procedure

Question 5

Common medical prefixes

Answer 5

a-/an means “not” or “without”
bi- means “two” or “double”
brady- means “slow”
hemi- means “half”
hyper- means “more of”, “excessive”, “above”
hypo- means “less of”, “low”
tachy- means “fast”

Question 6

Common medical roots

Answer 6

abdomin - “abdomen”, “stomach”
arteri/o - “artery”
brunch/o - “main passages in the airway”
cardi/o - heart
cyan - “blue”
derm/o - skin
larynx/o - larynx
em or hem - related to blood
my/o - muscle
nas/o - nose
near/o - “nose”
neur/o - nerves
plea - breathing
pulmonary/o - lungs
therm - heat
vas/o - vessel
ven/o - vein

Question 7

Common medical suffixes

Answer 7

-constriction - narrowing
-dialation - widening
- eurysm - “expanding, “widening”
-ia - “condition of”
-itis - “inflammation of”