Medical Terminology
Andra Ratliff LVN
AVUHSD ROP
A strong knowledge of medical terminology is
the backbone of good, solid, accurate
documentation and communication for health
care providers.
Healthcare workers not
only must walk the
walk, but they must
also talk the talk!
It’s impossible to memorize all the medical
terms that are out there!
But by using a few word parts, or elements,
you can build thousands of words!
• Hepat/o/megal/y
• Enlargement of the
liver
What are the elements of a medical
term?
1. Root word: the main part of a word. It is
always the subject or main topic of the
medical term - frequently a body part.
• Examples •
Gastr - stomach
•
Cardi - heart
•
Dermat - skin
2. Prefix - an element placed at the beginning
of the root word which changes in some
manner the meaning of the medical term or
makes it more specific.
• Examples:
•
Hemi - half
•
Hyper - above; excessive;
•
Ante - before; preceding
3. Suffix - an element placed at the end of a root
word. It frequently describes a condition of a body
part or an action to a body part.
• Examples:
•
itis - inflammation of
•
ectomy - surgical removal; excision
•
oma - tumor
4. Combining vowels: A,E,I,O,U. Used for
spelling and pronunciation purposes, the vowel is
added between two word elements. This vowel is
usually an “O.” It combines the two word parts.
• RULE: Do not use a combining vowel before a
word element that begins with a vowel.
• Example: Root word is Gastr (stomach).
• Suffix is ectomy (surgical removal).
• Since ectomy starts with a vowel you would not
need to add one in. So you would say
Gastrectomy not Gastroectomy.
5. Combining form: a root word plus a
combining vowel.
•
•
•
•
Example:
Angi/o - vessel
Encephal/o – brain
Thromb/o - clot
Don’t panic! It’s not as hard as it
sounds! Let’s look at some
examples!
PREFIX + COMBINING FORM + SUFFIX = Medical Term
• Peri
+
Card
+
Itis
= Pericarditis
(inflammation of the
area around the
heart)
(around)
(heart)
•
My/o
•
(muscle)
( inflammation of)
+
Logy =
(study of)
Myology
(study of muscles)
PREFIX + COMBINING FORM + SUFFIX = Medical Term
Hemat
+
(blood)
Hypo
(under)
+
Derm
(skin)
Uria
=
(urine)
+
Ic
Hematuria
(blood in the
urine)
=
Hypodermic
(pertaining to)
(pertaining to
the area under
the skin)
PREFIX + COMBINING FORM + SUFFIX = Medical Term
Gastr
+
(stomach)
Arthr/o
(joint)
+
Ectomy
=
Gastrectomy
(surgical removal)
(surgical
removal of the
stomach)
Plasty
(surgical repair)
=
Arthroplasty
(surgical repair of
a joint)
Sometimes more than one combining form will be used
to create a word.
Combining form Combining form
Gastr/o
(stomach)
+
Enter/o
Suffix
+ Logy
(intestine)
(study of)
Gastroenterology
(study of stomach and intestines)
=
Practice, Practice, Practice!
You will get it 