Medical terminology generally consists of words and terms derived from the

Greek and Latin language.

There are four fundamental elements that a medical word or term consists of.
The first is the word root, which is typically found in the middle of the word and
indicates its essential meaning.
The next is the combining form; which is the root of the word in addition to a
vowel. The prefix, which is located at the beginning of the word, is used to distinguish
a component of the word and further identify its central meaning. It's meant to depict
additional information relating to things like where a body part of the body is located.
Finally, the suffix is located at the end of the term and is used to fine-tune the primary
meaning and acts as an inflectional ending; denoting specific features, such as the
circumstances surrounding a condition, the progression of an ailment and the course
of action to be taken.

WORD ROOTS

The main part or stem of a word is called a word root (WR). A WR is usually
derived from the Greek or Latin language and frequently indicates a body part. Most
medical words have one or two roots.

Example of Word Roots

Greek Word Word Root

kardia (heart) cardi

gaster (stomach) gastr
hepat (liver) hepat
nephros (kidney) nephr
osteon (bone) oste

COMBINING FORMS

The combining form (CF) is a WR plus a vowel, usually an “o”. Like the WR,
the CF usually indicates a body part.

Examples of combining forms

Word Root + Combining Vowel = Combining Form Meaning

cardi o cardi/o heart

gastri o gastr/o stomach
arthr o arthr/o joint
derm o derm/o skin
cyt o cyt/o cell
cephal o cephal/o head
cerebr o cerebr/o brain
SUFFIXES

A suffix is a word ending. In the words tonsill/itis and tonsill/ectomy. The suffixes
are –itis(inflammation) and –ectomy (excision, removal). Changing a suffix gives
medical words a new meaning. In medical terminology a suffix usually indicates a
procedure, condition, disease, or part of speech.

Combining Form + Suffix = Medical Word Meaning

arthr/o -centesis arthrocentesis puncture of a joint

(joint) (puncture)
thorac/o -tomy thoracotomy incision of the chest
(chest) (incision)
gastr/o -megaly gastromegaly enlargement of the stomach
(stomach) (enlargement)
erythr/o -cyte erythrocyte red blood cell
(red) (cell)
cyt/o -logy cytology study of a cell
(cell) (study)

PREFIXES

A prefix is a word element located at the beginning of a word. When a medical word
contains a prefix, the meaning of a word is changed. The prefix usually indicates
number, time, position, direction, color, or negation.

Examples of Prefixes

Prefix + Word Root + Suffix = Medical Word Meaning

hyper therm -ia hyperthermia condition of excessive heat

(excessive) (heat) (condition)
intra muscul -ar intramuscular within the muscles
(in, within) (muscle) (relating to)
macro gloss -ia macroglossia condition of a large tongue
(large) (tongue) (condition)
micro card -ia microcardia of a small heart

BASIC RULES FOR BUILDING AND DEFINING MEDICAL WORDS

There are two basic rules for building medical words.

Rule 1 A WR is used before a suffix that begins with a vowel.

Word Root Suffix Medical Word Meaning

scler/ + osis sclerosis abnormal condition of hardening

(hardening) (abnormal condition)

Rule 2 a combining vowel is used to link a WR to a suffix that begins with a

consonant and to link a word root to another word root.
colon/o + scope = colonoscope instrument to view the colon
(colon) (instrument to view)

Words with more than one root are Compound Words

oste/ o/ chondr/ o/ +itis =osteocondritis inflammation of bone and cartilage

(bone) (cartilage) (inflammation)

oste o/ arthr/ +itis =osteoarthritis inflammation of bone and joint

(joint)

PRONUNCIATION GUIDELINES

ae and oe only the second vowel is pronounced.

bursae, pleurae
c and g are given the soft sound s and j before e, i and y
cerebrum, circumsicion, gingiva,gigantism

e and es when forming the final letter or letters of a word are often pronounced as
separate syllables.

syncope, systole
ch is sometimes pronounced k
cholesterol, cholemia, trachea
i at the end of a word (to form a plural) is pronounced <eye>
bronchi,fungi, nuclei
ps (at the beginning) is pronounced s as in psychology
Medical Terminology

Building Medical Terms

Medical terms can be formed by combining four different word elements:
Word root
Combining vowel
Prefix
Suffix

Word Root
The word root is the basis for the general meaning of the word.
The word root commonly describes the part of the body or body system.
A medical term can have more than one word root.

Word Root Example

Example of a word root:
Chemotherapy
The word root in this example is chem, which means “chemical”. Let’s look at the
rest of the word to determine its meaning.

Combining Vowel
A combining vowel is used to combine several word parts.
It also helps to make long medical terms easier to pronounce and understand.
The most often used vowel is o.

Combining Vowel Example

Example of a combining vowel:
Chem o therapy
The o is the combining vowel connecting the word root meaning “chemical” to the
rest of the word.

Suffix
The suffix is placed at the end of a medical term to add meaning to the term such as
condition, disease, or procedure.
Every medical term must have a suffix!
The suffix is generally connected to the word root.

Suffix Example
An example of a suffix:
Chem o therapy
The suffix in the example is therapy which means “treatment”.

Putting the parts together

So far we have learned about the word root, the combining vowel and the suffix.
Let’s look again at our example:
The word part chem (chemical) + the combining vowel (o) plus the suffix therapy
(treatment) = chemical treatment.
But there is one more word part yet to discuss…
Prefix

The prefix forms a new term when added to the front of an existing medical term.
The prefix generally refers to the location of an organ, the time (frequency) or number
of parts.

Prefix Example
An example of a prefix is:
Ultra sound
The prefix in the word is ultra which means “beyond, excess”. Ultrasound refers to
high-frequency sound waves.