Medical Terminology
Meds B 60
Jeanne Young, RN, MSN, FNP, PA
CRN 31448
Monday - Wednesday 1:00 pm – 2:25 pm
NO Texting !
CRN 31450
Monday 6:00 – 9:10 pm
CRN 31451
Tuesday 6:00 – 9:10 pm
Course Orientation
Syllabus
What must I know?
Objectives
What will I learn?
Success
Survivor’s guide or how to study for this
course and pass!
Success!
Determined by YOU!
Assisted by others: such as a study partner,
learning team members, and me.
Keep track of due dates for homework, tests,
quizzes, and projects.
Know the objectives.
Know what is repeated!
Introduction and Overview
Syllabus
Class Schedule
Text
I Clicker
Website
Homework
Introductions
Questions?
Discussion
Why are you here?
Medical Terminology
Let’s get Started!
What are your stressors?
What will help you be successful?
Do you know the meaning of these terms?
Can you pronounce them correctly?
Cardiomegaly
Thrombocytopenia
Neuropathy
Onychomycosis
Mastering
Healthcare
Terminology
Cryptorchidism
Cholelithiasis
Orthopnea
Learning medical terminology
Is imperative if you want to work in the
medical field
Will help you decipher medical reports and
information
Will enable you to help your family and
friends with health issues
Betsy Shiland
The 5 Medical Language Skills
Listening
Understanding what language you hear
and relaying the information
Listen to your CD-ROM and class discussions to learn
this language
Reading
Medical words and medical reports
You will need to practice reading medical language
and thinking about it to become proficient
The 5 Medical Language Skills
Thinking and Analyzing
How does it apply to your patient or situation
Need to think about the meaning
Learn how and why questions
Speaking
Learn to speak the correct pronunciations
To communicate without mistaking your meaning
Writing
Learn to spell correctly
Misspelling could result in mistakes such as a wrong procedure done.
Introduction to Healthcare Terminology
Derivation of Healthcare Terms – mostly
from Greek and Latin
Develop large vocabulary by learning
decodable word parts and rules that join them
together
–
Decodable Terms
Learn the code, complexcomplex-looking terms
become easier to decipher and to build.
Gastr/itis
Gastr/o - Stomach; itis - inflammation
Definition: inflammation of the stomach
Hyster/ectomy
hyster/o = uterus; ectomy = removal
Definition: removal of uterus
Combining form plus a suffix that begins with a vowel.
The combining form cardi/o- plus the suffix -ac equals the medical word
cardiac. Cardiac means pertaining to the heart.
Understanding Medical Terminology
Combining form plus a suffix that begins with a consonant.
The combining form cardi/o- plus the suffix -logy equals the medical word
cardiology, Cardiology means the study of the heart.
Nondecodable Terms
Eponyms
Cannot be divided into component parts, entire
Named after person who first identified the
definition must be memorized
Asthma (Greek = panting)
Definition: Respiratory disorder characterized by
recurring episodes of paroxysmal dyspnea (difficulty
breathing)
Cataract (Greek = waterfall)
Definition: Progressive opacification of the lens
condition, procedure or devised object.
Example:
Cesarean Section
Alzheimer Disease
Abbreviations
Symbols
Shortened terms to a number of letters for the
Graphic representation for words
sake of convenience
Example:
CABG – Coronary Artery Bypass Graft
CAD - Coronary Artery Disease
MI – Myocardial Infarction
ABG’
ABG’s – Arterial Blood Gases
CBC – Complete Blood Count
Plurals
a
is
nx
um
us
y
Example:
Male
Female
Increase
Decrease
Positive
Negative
>
<
+
-
Prefixes
ae
es
nges
a
i
ies
Vertebra/Vertebrae
Diagnosis/Diagnoses
Phalanx/Phalanges
Bacterium/Bacteria
Embolus/Emboli
Therapy/Therapies
Comes at the beginning of the medical term
Gives more information about the term
Location - epi,
epi, peri,
peri, endo
Color -alb, eosin
Measurement or amount -hyper, hypo, poly,
multi, a, an
Word Roots
Combining Vowels
Word Roots
Foundation of term
Describes what term is about
Every term has at least 1, some have 2 or 3
Usually an o, occasionally an i
used between multiple word roots or word
roots and suffixes to join words by making
them easier to pronounce
Example:
Hepat(itis)
Hepat(itis)
Cardiomyo(pathy)
Cardiomyo(pathy)
Otorhinolaryngo(logy)
Otorhinolaryngo(logy)
Example:
Cardiomyopathy (correct)
Combining Forms
Suffixes
Cardimypathy (incorrect)
Word roots plus combining vowel
Always at the end of the term
Example:
Cardi/o
My/o
Hepat/o
Qualifies the term as a:
Medical Term
Cardi/o + my/o + pathy = cardiomyopathy
Disease of heart muscle
Hepat/o + itis + hepatitis
Inflammation of liver
Condition – osis,
osis, itis,
itis, uria
Procedure – plasty,
plasty, rrhapy
Specialties and specialists - iatrician,
iatrician, logist
Suffixes
Pronunciation
Cardiology - Study of the heart
cardi/o + logy
Cardiologist - Someone who studies the heart
cardi/o + logist
Cardiomegaly - Enlargement of the heart
cardi/o + megaly
Cardiomyopathy - Disease of heart muscle
cardi/o + my/o + pathy
Pronunciation of Unusual Letter Combinations
Eu,
Eu, gn,
gn, ph, pn,
pn, ps,
ps, pt, x
Spelling Rules
If Suffix Starts With a Vowel,
Vowel, a combining
vowel is not needed (arthritis)
Spelling Rules
Joining Word Roots
A combining vowel is used regardless of
whether the word roots start with vowels or
consonants
osteoarthritis
oste/o arthritis
cardiomyopathy
cardi/o + my/o + pathy
If Suffix Starts With a Consonant,
Consonant, a combining
vowel is needed (cardiology)
Spelling Rules
Sequencing Word Roots
Combining forms are joined in logical order
Pathology
Signs and Symptoms
Symptoms are subjective indications of
disease
Viewing the esophagus, stomach, duodenum esophogogastroduodenoscopy
Study of ear, nose, throat - ototrhinolaryngology
Pain
Itching
Fatigue
Signs are objective findings seen or
measured
Fever
Rash
Cyanosis
Pathology
Diagnosis and Prognosis
Diagnosis is the disease or condition named after
evaluating the patient
Acute –begins abruptly and severely and ends after
a short time
Chronic –develops slowly and lasts a long time
Prognosis is the prediction of the probable
outcome of the disease
Diagnostic Procedures - lab tests, xx-rays,
ultrasounds, CAT scan, MRI, others
Therapeutic Interventions – appropriate
treatment for condition, surgical, medication, CAM
Instruments – many terms to describe health care
instruments or diagnostic instruments
Example: -graph = instrument to record,
-meter, instrument to measure
COMMON PREFIXES
a anan anteante antianti dysdys endoendo epiepi exex-
not, without
no, not, without
before, in front of
against
painful, abnormal, difficult
within
above, on top of
outside, out
COMBINING FORMS
birth
bone
colon, large intestine
disease
heart
joint
life
liver
skin
small intestine
stomach
nat/o
oste/o
col/o,
col/o, colon/o
path/o
cardi/o
arthr/o
bi/o
hepat/o
derm/o,
derm/o, dermat/o
enter/o
gastr/o
COMMON SUFFIXES
-logy
-megaly
-osis
-pathy
-plasty
-scope
-scopy
-stomy
-tomy
study of
enlargement
abnormal condition
disease process
surgical repair
instrument to examine
visual examination
a new opening
an incision
COMMON PREFIXES
hyperhyperhypohypoinfrainfrainterinterintraintraneoneoperperperiperiprepresubsub-
excessive, above
deficient, below
below
between
within
new
through
surrounding
before
under, below
COMMON SUFFIXES
-al
-algia
-dynia
-ectomy
-gram
-graph
-graphy
-ia
-itis
pertaining to
pain
pain
excision, removal
a record
instrument to record
process of recording
condition
inflammation
BE CAREFUL!
anteante-, antianti perper-, prepre-, periperi -tomy,
tomy, -stomy,
stomy, -ectomy