Welcome to

English for Medicine 1

Objectives:
Identify general medical terms

Recognize the origin of medical terms

Articulate medical terms

Demonstrate composition of medical terms

What is medical terminology!

• Different professions have different "languages".

• "hepatitis" and "intravenous".

• The words - or terms - which make up the language of medicine are

referred Medical Terminology.

• The majority of medical terms are based in Latin or Greek.

How Does Medical Terminology Work?

Tachycardia

Therapeutic

Myocarditis
• Most medical terms can be broken down into one or more word parts.

• (1) roots,
• (2) prefixes,
• (3) suffixes, and
• (4) linking or combining vowels.
• An example of a word with three of the above parts is the medical
term "pericarditis",

peri - card – itis

• the prefix "peri" translates to "surrounding",

• the root "card" translates to "heart", and

• the suffix "itis" translates to "inflammation".

• inflammation of the outer layer of the heart, anatomically known as

the pericardium.
Dissecting medical terms

• Medical terms derive from Greek and Latin, learning medical

terminology is like learning a new language.

• Most medical terms are a combination of two or more parts.

• Successful interpretation of each part, enables grasping the essential

meaning of the word.

• Interpreting of the meaning of a medical term requires knowledge of

common medical roots, prefixes, and suffixes.
• A root is the essential component of a word.

• Many medical roots signify a disease, procedure, or body part.

• Roots appear at different places within a term.

• Two or more roots may be combined to form a word, as in cardi-o-

pulmonary and cardi-o-vascular.

• The letter o is the most commonly used combining vowel.

Examples of roots used in different positions:

a root at the beginning of a word—angioedema (angi is a root that

means vessel)

a root in the middle of a word—encephalic (cephal is a root that

means head)

a root at the end of a word—scleroderma (derm is a root that means

skin)

a combination of roots—phototherapy (photo is a root that means

light; therapy is a root that means treatment).
• A prefix consists of one or more letters attached to the beginning of a
root.

• Many prefixes used for medical terms are also applied to standard
English vocabulary.

• To determine the meaning of a prefix in a medical term, consider a

familiar word that begins with the same prefix.

• the prefix anti- has the same meaning—against—in both antislavery

and antihistamine, literally against slavery and against histamine (the
compound that produces allergic reactions).
• A suffix is one or more letters attached to the end of a root. .

• Common use of suffixes in medical terminology includes adding a -y

to a word to denote a procedure

• gastroscopy, which means endoscopic examination of the stomach.

• Similarly, adding -ly to a word denotes an act or process; for example,

splenomegaly, which means the abnormal enlargement of the spleen.
• A combining form is a word root with a vowel at the end so that a
suffix beginning with a consonant can be added.

• For example, the combining form meaning stomach is gastr/o.

Break it down; build it up

• With a bit of practice, parts of a medical term can easily be interpreted

and combined

Example:

• acrocyanosis,

• the root acr (extremities)

• the vowel o are combined with the root cyan (blue)

• the suffix -osis (condition) a condition characterized by blue extremities.

Word part guidelines

• A word root cannot stand alone.

• A suffix or must be added to complete the term.

• A suffix usually, but not always, indicates the procedure, condition,

disorder, or disease.

• A prefix usually, but not always, indicates location, time, number, or

status.
WORD ROOTS

• Word roots are the foundation of most medical terms.

• They usually, but not always, describe the part of the body that is
involved.

• Some word roots indicate color as shown in the table below.

cyan/o means blue Cyanosis is blue discoloration of the skin caused by a lack of
adequate oxygen in the blood (cyan means blue, and -osis
means abnormal condition or disease).
erythr/o means red An erythrocyte is a mature red blood cell (erythr/o means red,
and -cyte means cell). leuk/o means white A leukocyte) is a
white blood cell (leuk/o means white, and -cyte means cell).

melan/o means black Melanosis is any condition of unusual deposits of black

pigment in body tissues or organs (melan means black, and
-osis means abnormal condition or disease).

poli/o means gray Poliomyelitis is a viral infection of the gray matter of the
spinal cord (poli/o means gray, myel means spinal cord, and -
itis means inflammation).
Combining Form Vowels

• A combining form vowel - the end of a word root under certain

conditions.

• to make the resulting medical term easier to pronounce.

• the letter “o” is the most commonly used combining vowel.

• word root shown alone as a combining form, it includes a slash (/) and
the combining vowel.
Rules for using combining form vowels

1. A combining vowel is used when the suffix begins with a consonant.

• neur/o (nerve) is joined with the suffix -plasty

• the combining vowel “o” is used because -plasty begins with a

consonant.

- Neuroplasty is the surgical repair of a nerve (neur/o means nerve, and -

plasty means surgical repair).
2. A combining vowel - not used when the suffix begins with a vowel (a,
e, i, o, u).

• neur/o (nerve) - the suffix -itis

• no combining vowel is used because -itis begins with a vowel.

- Neuritis is inflammation of a nerve or nerves (neur means nerve, and -

itis means inflammation).
3. A combining vowel - two or more word roots are joined.

• gastroenteritis combines two word roots with a suffix.

• gastr/o (stomach) - enter/o (small intestine)- = the combining vowel is

used.

• enter/o -itis (inflamation), not used - begins with a vowel.

- Gastroenteritis - inflammation of the stomach and small intestine

Suffixes Meaning ‘Pertaining To’

• An adjective is a word that defines or describes a thing.

• many suffixes meaning “pertaining to” change the word root into an
adjective.

• the term cardiac is an adjective that means pertaining to the heart

Suffixes Meaning ‘Abnormal Condition’

• In medical terminology, many suffixes, mean “abnormal condition or

disease.”

• example -osis,

• gastrosis means any disease of the stomach

Suffixes Related to Pathology

• Pathology is the study of all aspects of diseases

path means disease, and -ology means study of).

 -algia - pain and suffering. Gastralgia

 -dynia also means pain. Gastrodynia also means pain in the stomach

 -itis means inflammation. Gastritis is an inflammation of the stomach

 -malacia means abnormal softening. Arteriomalacia is the abnormal
softening of the walls of an artery or arteries

 -megaly means enlargement. Hepatomegaly is abnormal enlargement

of the liver.

 -necrosis means tissue death. Arterionecrosis is the tissue death of an

artery or arteries
 -sclerosis means abnormal hardening. Arteriosclerosis is the
abnormal hardening of the walls of an artery or arteries.

 -stenosis means abnormal narrowing. Arteriostenosis is the abnormal

narrowing of an artery or arteries.