Prajogo

Medical terminology is
 a special vocabulary used by health care professionals
for effective and accurate communication

 consistent and uniform throughtout the world,

because it is based mainly on Greek and Latin words
 Prefix Root Suffix

Prefix Root Suffix

 Most medical terms can be divided into component

parts-roots, prefixes, and suffixes-that maintain the
same meaning whenever they appear.

 The fundamental unit of each medical world is the

root. This establishes the basic meaning of the word
and is the part to which modifying prefixes and
suffixes are added.
examples
 The Greek word kardia, meaning “heart,” gives us the
root cardi
 The Latin word pulmo, meaning “lung,” gives us the
root pulm
 We find both the Greek root nephr and the Latin root
ren used in words pertaining the kidney

 Some compound medical words are cardiovascular

(pertaining to the heart and blood vessels), urogenital
(pertaining to the urinary and reproductive systems)
COMBINING
Root – o – Suffix
 A combining vowel (o) may be added between a root
and a suffix
Neur + o + logy = neurology (study of the nervous
system)

Root - 0
 Neur/o
 Neur + itis = neuritis (inflamation of a nerve)
Word derivations
 Muscle comes from a latin word that means “mouse”
because the movement of a muscle under the skin was
thought to resemble the scampering of a mouse.

 The coccyx, the tail end of the spine, is named for the
cuckoo because it was thought to resemble the
cuckoo’s bill.
Pronunciation
 a is in hat
e is in met
i as in bin
o as in some
u as in run

 ā as is in say
ē as is in tea
ī as is in lie
ō as in hose
ū as is in sue

The accented syllable in each word is shown with capital letters

 Cerebrum (SER-e-brum)
 Cerebrospinal (ser-e-brō-SPĪ-nal)
 Duodenum (dū-ō-DĒ-num)
 Skeletal (SKEL-e-tal)
 Apnea (AP-nē-a) meaning cessation of breathing
 Prognosis (prog-NŌ-sis) meaning prediction of the
outcome of disease
SYMBOLS
 Symbols are commonly used in case histories as a form
of shorthand.
 Some examples are L and R for left and right;  and
 for increase and decrease.
SILENT LETTER
LETTERS PRONUNCIATION EXAMPLE DEFINITION OF
EXAMPLE
ch k chemical Pertaining to chemistry

dys dis dystrophy Poor nourishment of tissue

eu u euphoria Exaggerated feeling of well-

being
gn n gnathic Pertaining to the jaw

ph f pharmacy A drug dispensary

pn n pneumonia Inflammation of the lungs

ps s Pseudo- False

pt t ptosis Dropping

rh r rheumatic Pertaining to rheumatism, a

disorder of muscles and
joints
x z xiphoid Pertaining to cartilage
attached to the sternum
NOUN SUFFIXES
SUFFIXES THAT MEANS CONDITION OF

SUFFIX EXAMPLE DEFINITION OF

EXAMPLE
-ia phobia Persistent and
exaggerated fear
-ism alcoholism Impaired control of
alcohol use
-sis acidosis Acid condition of boy
fluids
-y tetany Sustained muscle
contraction
SUFFIXES FOR MEDICAL SPECIALTIES
SUFFIX MEANING EXAMPLE DEFINITION OF
EXAMPLE
-ian Specialist in a field of physician Practioner of medicine
study (root physilo=nature)
-iatrics Medical specialty geriatrics Study and treatment of
the aged (root ger/i=old
age)
-ics Medical specialty orthopedics Study and treatment of
the skeleton and joints
(fromm root
pedlo=child, and prefix
ortho=straight)

-iatry Medical specialty Podiatry Study and treatment of

the foot (root pod/o,
meaning foot)
-ist Specialist in a field of Cardiologist Specialist in the study
study and treatment of the
heart
-logy Study of physiology Study of function in
aliving organism