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University of Bahrain

College of Health Sciences


English Department

Semester 1 2020/2021
ENG114- English for the Professions Level 1

Introduction to Medical Terminology


Unit 1

Objectives
You should be able to:
R Analyze medical terms using prefixes, suffixes, and word roots
R build medical terms using prefixes, suffixes, and word roots
R Describe medical terms using prefixes, suffixes, and word roots
MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY Unit 1

Introduction

Everybody uses medical terminology. If you work in a hospital, you use medical words every
day. If you are a patient, you hear medical terms at your doctor’s, read about health matters in the
newspaper, and use them to make daily decisions about your own health care and the health care of
your family. Terms such as arthritis, electrocardiogram, hepatitis, and anemia describe conditions
and tests.

Other medical words may seem more complicated, but this course will help you to understand
them even if you have never studied biology or science.
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MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY Unit 1

If you divide the terms into their component parts and learn the meaning of each part, you can
use that knowledge to produce and understand many other new terms.

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MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY Unit 1

FOUR WORD PARTS

Most medical terms consist of some or all of the following word parts:

1. Word roots
2. Suffixes
3. Prefixes
4. Combining vowels
5. Combining Forms

1. WORD ROOT

The word root is the word part that is the core of the word. The word root contains the fundamental
meaning of the word.

Examples:
In the word ………………… play/er,
play is the word root.

In the medical term ………… arthr/it is,


arthr (which means joint) is the word root

In the medical term ……… hepat/it is,


hepat (which means liver), is the word root.

2. SUFFIX

The suffix is a word part attached to the end of the word root to modify its meaning.

Examples:
In the word …………………… play/er, -er is the suffix.

In the medical term ………… hepat/ic, -ic (which means pertaining to) is the suffix.

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MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY Unit 1
As mentioned above, hepat is the word root for liver; therefore hepatic means pertaining to the
liver.

In the medical term ………… hepat/itis,


-itis (which means inflammation) is the suffix.

The suffix is used to


The term hepatitis means inflammation of the liver. modify the meaning
of a word: therefore,
3. PREFIX not all medical
terms have a suffix.

The prefix is a word part attached to the beginning of a word root to modify
its meaning.

Examples:
In the word re/play,
re- is the prefix.
A prefix may be
used to modify the
In the medical term sub/hepat/ic,
meaning of a
sub- (which means under) is the prefix. word; therefore,
not all medical
terms have a
Hepat is the word root for liver, and –ic is the suffix for pertaining to. The prefix.
medical term subhepatic means pertaining to under the liver.

In the medical term intra/ven/ous,


intra- (which mean within) is the prefix,
ven- (which means vein)is the word root,
and
-ous (which means pertaining to ) is the suffix.

The word intravenous means pertaining to within the vein.

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MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY Unit 1
4. COMBINING VOWEL

The combining vowel is a word part, usually an o, and is used between two word roots or between a
word root and a suffix to ease pronunciation.

Examples:
In the word therm/o/meter,
o is the combining vowel used between two word parts.

In the medical term arthr/o/pathy,


o is the combining vowel used between the word root arthr and the suffix
–pathy (which means disease).

5. Combining Forms

A combing form is a word root with the combining vowel attached, separated by a diagonal line.

Examples: arthr/o
oste/o
ven/o

The combining form is not a word part; rather it is a presentation of two word parts.

The combining vowel is used to ease pronunciation, hence not all medical terms have combining vowels.

Medical terms introduced throughout the text that have combining vowels other than O are highlighted

at their introduction.

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MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY Unit 1

Guidelines for Using Combining Vowels

GUIDELINE ONE: When connecting a word root and a suffix, a combining vowel is usually not used
if the suffix beings with a vowel.

Example:
In the medical term hepat/ic,
The suffix –ic beings with the vowel i;
Therefore a combining vowel is not used.

GUIDELINE TWO: When connecting two word roots, a combining vowel is usually used even if
vowels are present at the junction.

Example:
In the medical term oste/o/arthr/itis,
o is the combining vowel used, even though the word root oste(which means
bone) ends with the vowel e and the word root arthr begins with the vowel a.

Activity 1A Match the phrases in the first column with the correct terms
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MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY Unit 1
in the second column.

_____ 1. attached before a word root a. combining vowel


_____ 2. usually an -o- b. prefix

_____ 3. all medical terms contain one or more c. combining form

_____ 4. attached after a word root d. word root

_____ 5. word root with combining vowel attached e. suffix

Activity 1B Answer true (T) or false (F).

_____ 1. There is always a prefix at the beginning of medical terms.

_____ 2. A combining vowel is always used when connecting a word root and
a suffix.

_____ 3. A prefix modifies the meaning of the word.

_____ 4. A combining vowel is used to ease pronunciation

_____ 5. I is the most commonly used combining vowel.

_____ 6. The word root is the core of a medical term.

_____ 7. A combining form is a single word part.

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MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY Unit 1
Analyzing and Defining Medical Terms
Analyzing

To analyze medical terms divide the medical terms into word parts, label each word part, and label
the combining forms. Follow the procedure below:

1. Divide the term into word parts by VERTICAL SLASHES.

Example: oste/o/arthr/o/pathy

2. Label each word part by using the following abbreviations.

WR word root COMBINING DEFINITION


P prefix FORMS
S suffix arthr/o joint
CV combining vowel
hepat/o liver
ven/o vein
WR CV WR CV S oste/o bone
Example: oste / o / arthr / o / pathy
PREFIXES
intra- within
3. Label the combining forms. sub- under

WR CV WR CV S SUFFIXES
-itis inflammation
Examples: oste / o / arthr / o / pathy
-ic pertaining to
CF CF -ous
-al pertaining to
-pathy disease

COMBININGVOWEL
-o-

Analyze the following medical term.


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MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY Unit 1
osteopathy

WR CV S
Answer: oste / o / pathy
CF
Defining

To define medical terms apply the meaning of each word part in the term.

Apply this rule to find the definition of

oste/o/arthr/o/pathy

Write the definition of osteoarthropathy. Begin by defining the word pathy, then move to the beginning
of the term. Use the box on page 98 to find the meaning of the word part.
Answer: disease of the bone and joint.

A helpful rule:

Begin by defining the suffix, then move to the beginning of the term to complete the definition

(Does not apply to all medical terms).

Building Medical Terms

Building medical terms means using word parts to build a medical term that matches the definition.
Using the box on page 98 as a reference, complete the following steps to build the medical term for

disease of a joint

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MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY Unit 1

STEP 1: Find the suffix for disease. Write the word part in the space below.

STEP 2: Find the word root for joint. Write the word part in the space below.

STEP 3: The suffix does not begin with a vowel. So a combining vowel is needed.
Insert the combining vowel in the correct space below.

__________ / ____ /_________


WR / CV / S

Summary

To complete this worksheet successfully, you do not need to know what the word parts, such as arthr,
mean. You will learn these in subsequent worksheets.

It is important that you have met these objectives:

1. Can you identify and define the four word parts? yes  no 

Keep in mind that the


2. Can you identify and define a combining form? yes  no beginning of the
definition usually
indicates the suffix.
3. Can you use word parts to analyze and define medical terms? yes  no 

4. Can you use word parts to build medical terms for a given definition? yes no

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MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY Unit 1
Activity 2A. Using the box on page 98, identify the word parts and their
meaning, analyze and define the following terms.

WR CV WR CV S
Example: oste/o/arthr/o/pathy = disease of bone and joint
CF CF

1. arthr/itis ________________________

2. hepat/itis ________________________

3. sub/hepat/ic ________________________

4. intra/ven/ous ________________________

5. arthr/o/pathy ________________________

6. oste/itis ________________________

Activity 2B. Using the box on page98as a reference, build medical terms for the
following definitions.

Example: disease of the joint arthr / o / pathy


WR CV S

1. inflammation of the joint _________________

2. pertaining to the liver _________________

3. pertaining to under the liver _________________

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MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY Unit 1
4. pertaining to within the vein _________________

5. inflammation of the bone _________________

6. inflammation of the liver _________________

7.disease of the bone and joints _________________

In a term that has more than one root there is no rule as to which goes first. The order is usually

dictated by common practice. You will eventually become accustomed to the accepted order.

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MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY Unit 1
Examples of the four word-parts

Word Combining Medical Literal Actual


Prefix Suffix
Root Vowel Term Meaning Meaning
against the suppressing thyroid
anti- thyroid- antithyroid
thyroid activity
-ic pertaining to the
gastr- gastric
stomach

-logy
cardi- -o- cardiology study of the heart

decrease in number of
-ia condition of red blood cells/
an- (h)aem- anaemia
no blood decreased haemo-
globin in the cells
pain in the upper
-algia pain above
epi- gastr- epigastralgia region of the
the stomach
abdomen
the branch of
ot- -o- medicine dealing
otorhino-
rhin- -o- -logy with diseases of the
laryngology
laryng- -o- ear, nose and
throat (ENT)
oste- inflammation of the
-o- -it is osteoarthritis
arthr- bone and joints
oste- -o- disease of the bone
-pathy osteoarthropathy
arthr- -o- and joints

Activity3A Match the term with its definition.

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MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY Unit 1
DEFINITION TERM

_____ 1. inflammation of the tendon a. thoracotomy

_____ 2. inflammation of the esophagus b. tendonitis

_____ 3. incision into the thorax c. thyroidectomy

______4. removal of the thyroid gland d. arthritis

_____ 5. removal of the spleen e. splenectomy

_____ 6. inflammation of the joints f. esophagitis

Activity 3B Select the correct term to complete each sentence.

____ 1. Fatima had a cough and fever. Her doctor instructed her to go to the ______
department for a chest x-ray.
a. pathology b. radiology c. hematology

____ 2. Layla had problems holding her urine. She made an appointment with a ____ a.
gastroenterologist b. neurologist c. urologist

____ 3. The doctor told the patient she had lost much blood during delivery of her
child. She therefore had _______________.
a. anemia b. leukocytosis c. adenitis

____ 4. Juma was having chest pain during his morning walks. He made an
appointment to see a _________.
a. nephrologist b. neurologist c. cardiologist

____ 5. After the skiing accident, Dr Abdulla suggested ___________to visually


Examine my swollen, painful knee.
a. cystoscopy b. biopsy c. arthroscopy

Biology and its Branches

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MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY Unit 1

The principles of word construction and analysis outlined on the previous pages can
be illustrated by looking at some of the terms used for different branches of medical science.

The study of living things forms the subject of biology (from the Greek bio-, meaning life, and -logy,
meaning science or study). Bio- appears in many related words:

biochemistry - the study of the chemical processes involved in life;


biophysics - the study of the physical processes involved in life;
microbiology - the study of micro-organisms (small life);
antibiotic- a substance capable of destroying life (especially bacterial life).

An important branch of biology is the science of the functions of living things, or physiology (from the
Greek physi/o-, meaning nature, and -logy). Physic- meaning natural appears in words like:

physics - the science dealing with the properties of matter and


physical - according to the laws of nature; energy;
physician - one who practices medicine (presumably by applying the study of nature)

The branch of biology which deals with the structure of the body is known as anatomy. This word is
derived from the Greek words ana-, meaning up or back and
-tomy, meaning cutting. The derivation reveals that the study of anatomy is largely based on
dissection, or cutting up.

Two subjects related to anatomy are histology, the study of the structure of the tissues of the body
(from the Greek hist/o-, meaning web or tissue, and -logy), and cytology, the study of cells (from the
Greek cyt/o-, meaning cell, and -logy).

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MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY Unit 1
Medicine and its Branches I

The word medicine means the art, or science, of restoring and preserving health. It is derived directly
from the Latin word medicina.

Many of the specialities into which medicine is divided are named by the addition of the suffix -logy
meaning study, to the appropriate root. Examples include:

dermatology - the branch of medicine concerned with the skin


(from the Greek derm/o-, dermat/o- meaning skin);

gynaecology - the branch of medicine concerned with women


(from the Greek gynaec/o-, meaning woman);

pathology - the study of disease, especially the structural and functional


changes in tissues caused by disease
(from the Greek path/o- meaning suffering);

psychology - the study of behaviour


(from the Greek psych/o-, meaning soul or spirit).

Other branches of medicine are named by the addition of the suffixes -iatry or -iatrics to the
appropriate root. These suffixes are derived from the Greek iatric- meaning treatment. Examples
include:

geriatrics - the branch of medicine concerned with old people


(from the Greek ger-, meaning old age);

paediatrics - the branch of medicine concerned with child


(from the Greek paed-, meaning child);

psychiatry - the treatment of mental disorders.

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MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY Unit 1
Activity 3A Match the definitions on the right with the sciences on the
left.

SCIENCE DEFINITION

___ 1. histology a. the branch of medicine concerned with the elderly

___ 2. neurology b. the treatment of mental disorders

___ 3. psychiatry c. the branch of medicine concerned with children

___ 4. pathology d. the study of the structure of body tissues

___ 5. paediatrics e. the branch of medicine concerned with women

___ 6. chemotherapy f. the study of disease

___ 7. radiotherapy g. the study of the nervous system

___ 8. gynaecology h. the treatment of disease by radiation

___ 9. geriatrics i. the treatment of disease by chemicals

___ 10. dermatology j. the branch of medicine concerned with the skin

Activity 3B Give the definition of the words below.


Example: radiology: the study of X- rays
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MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY Unit 1

1. embryology

2. enzymology

3. gynaecology (gynecology, US)

4. histology

5. laryngology

6. microbiology

7. neurology

8. osteology

9. symptomatology

10. urology

11. parasitology

12. pathology

13. psychopathology

14. physiology

Medicine and its Branches II

The study of medicine often involves the study of the causes of disease, or aetiology (from the Greek
aetio-, meaning cause, and -logy).

The practice of medicine employs the arts of diagnosis and prognosis. Both of these words are
derived from the Greek word gnosis, meaning knowledge or judgment. The prefix dia- means
through or thorough. Hence diagnosis means thorough knowledge and is used in medicine in the
sense of the identification of a disease.

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MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY Unit 1

The prefix pro- means before, hence prognosis means foreknowledge and is used in medicine in the
sense of forecasting the course of a disease.

The purpose of medicine is healing. The Greek root for to heal is therap-, from which the words
therapy and therapeutics are derived. The suffix -therapy meaning treatment, appears in many
words, for example:

physiotherapy: the treatment of disease by natural agencies (such as heat or


sunlight);

hydrotherapy: the treatment of disease by the application of water


(from the Greek hydr- meaning water, and - therapy);

chemotherapy: the treatment of disease by chemicals

Although the strict meaning of the term chemotherapy is the treatment of disease by chemicals, the
word is commonly used in the more restricted sense of the use of a chemical substance or drug to kill
an infective organism or cancerous cell. Chemotherapy is therefore a branch of pharmacotherapy,
the treatment of disease by drugs. Pharmacotherapy is derived from the Greek pharmaco-,
meaning drug, medicine or poison. This word appears as a root in such words as:

pharmaceutical: pertaining to medicine and drugs

pharmacist: chemist

pharmacology: the study of medicine and drugs

pharmacopoeia: a book containing details of products used in making medicine


from the Greek -poeia, meaning making, preparation)

pharmacy: the preparation and dispensing of drugs; or achemist’s shop.

Finally, there is one important branch of medicine which has not yet been mentioned, namely
surgery. (This word is derived from the Greek words cheir-/chir- meaning hand and erg-, meaning
work, by way of the early English word chirurgery.)

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MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY Unit 1

Activity 4A Deduce the meaning of the following terms:

1. Electrotherapy _____________________________________________

2. Radiotherapy _____________________________________________

3. Physiatrics _____________________________________________

Activity 4B Define the following terms:

1. Aetiology is _____________________________________________

2. Pharmacology is _____________________________________________

3. Neurosurgery is _____________________________________________

Activity 4C Deduce the meanings of the following terms:

1. Neurophysiology is _________________________________________

2. Neurology is ________________________________________

3. Neuropathy is ________________________________________

Activity 5 Select from the following terms to complete the sentences below.

leukemia urologist anemia thrombocyte arthralgia

pathologist oncologist neuralgia dermatologist arthritis psychiatrist

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1. The medical term for pain from joints is ________________.

2. The medical term for pain from nerves is ______________ .

3 Mr. Bell’s white blood cell count is 10 times higher than normal. Examination of his blood
shows cancerous white blood cells. His diagnosis is ________________.

4. The biopsy sample was removed during surgery and sent to a ______________ to be
examined under the microscope for a proper diagnosis.

5 A __________ performed surgery to remove Mr. Simon’s cancerous kidney.

6. Mr. Jordan has a disease caused by abnormal hemoglobin in his erythrocytes. The
erythrocytes change shape, collapsing to form sickle-shaped cells that can become clots and
obstruct the flow of blood. He has a condition called sickle-cell _______________

7. A/An _______________ is a doctor who treats carcinomas and sarcomas.

8. A cell that helps blood to clot is called a platelet ______________________.

9. A/An _____________ is a medical doctor who treats mentally ill patients and can prescribe
medications for them.
10. A/An _____________ is a medical doctor who specializes in the treatment of diseases of the
skin.

THE BODY

In this section annotated diagrams are used to show the roots from which medical terms referring to
the body are constructed. In the annotations the commonly used English word is shown in capital
letters. The appropriate roots derived from Greek and Latin are shown underneath the English word.
Any relevant notes are added underneath the Greek and/ or Latin roots.

Where more than two roots are in common use, all the roots are shown in the appropriate typeface.
Where only one root is in common use, only that root is shown. For example :
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MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY Unit 1

The English word


BODY

somat- corpor-

This is the Greek root from This is the Latin root from
which some medical terms which some medical terms are
are derived. derived.

MIND

phren- psych- ment-

FACE
faci-
Note: The word facies is often used to designate a specific surface of a body structure.

BODY

CHEST

thorac- steth- pector-

RIB ARM
pleur- cost-
brachi-
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WRIST
MEDICALBREAST
TERMINOLOGY Unit 1
carp-
mast- mamm-

HAND

ABDOMEN chir- cheir-


manu-
abdomin- lapar-

FINGER, TOE
FOOT dactyl- digit-
pod- ped-

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MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY Unit 1

A Summary of Words Related to the Trunk and Limbs

English Latin Greek Greek


Meaning
Noun Adjective Adjective Noun

abdomen abdominal laparotomy abdominal incision

arm brachial

body corporeal somatic somatotype type of body

breast mammary mastectomy removal of a breast

instrument for examining the


chest pectoral thoracic stethoscope
chest
inflammation of fingers and/or
finger digital dactylitis
toes

foot pedal podiatrist foot specialist

chiroplasty/
hand manual plastic surgery on the hand
cheiroplasty
pleura
(membrane pleural pleurisy Inflammation of the pleura
around lungs)

rib costal

bones beyond the wrist in


wrist carpal metacarpals
the palm of the hand

FACE

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MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY Unit 1

MOUTH

stom(at)- or-

SINUS

sin-

LIP

chil- cheil- labi-

TONGUE
TOOTH
gloss- lingu-
odont- dent-

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MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY Unit 1
HEAD

HEAD

cephal- capit-

SKULL

crani-

BRAIN FOREHEAD

encephal- cerebr- front-

EYE
EAR
ophthalm- ocul-
ot- aur-

NOSE
CHEEK
rhin- nas-
bucc-

NECK

trachel- cervic-

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MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY Unit 1

A Summary of Words Related to the Head

In medical terminology, adjectives are not normally formed from the English noun. Instead, the Latin
or Greek roots are used. In this table the strong part of each word is in bold type. Study the table,
and then answer the questions.
English Latin Greek ‘Inflammation
Noun Adjective Adjective of the ..........’
brain cerebral encephalic encephalitis
cheek buccal
ear aural otic otitis
eye ocular ophthalmic ophthalmitis
face facial
forehead frontal
head capital cephalic cephalitis (= encephalitis)
lip labial cheilitis, chilitis
mind mental phrenic, phrenetic, psychic
mouth oral stomatic stomatitis
neck cervical
nose nasal rhinal rhinitis
sinus sinusitis
skull cranial
tongue lingual glossal glossitis
tooth dental odontic odontitis

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MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY Unit 1

1. Which suffix is normal (a) in Latin adjectives?


(b) in Greek adjectives?

2. Is the suffix -itis normally used with Greek or Latin roots?

3. Which part of the word is normally strong (stressed)


(a) in English nouns?
(b) in Latin adjectives?
(c) in Greek adjectives?
(d) in -itis words?

B. Pronounce the words in the third and fourth columns after your teacher.

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MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY Unit 1

Activity 1

A. Which of the diseases on the right affect the parts of the body listed on the left?

a. nose 1.otitis media

b. lip 2.cheilocarcinoma

c. ear 3. rhinitis

B. Which parts of the body do the following nerves supply?

a) oculomotor nerve ______________________

b) lingual nerve ______________________

c) buccal nerve ______________________

d) labial nerve ______________________

C. Deduce the meanings of the following adjectives.

a) somatic ______________________

b) phrenic ______________________

c) cephalic ______________________

d) cranial ______________________

D. On which parts of the body are the following instruments used?

a) ophthalmoscope ______________________
b) otoscope ______________________

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MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY Unit 1
c) craniometer ______________________
d) encephalometer ______________________

Activity 2

A. Whereabouts in the body are the following?

1. carpal bones ______________________

2. brachial artery ______________________

3. pectoral muscles ______________________

4. mammary muscles ______________________

5. intercostals muscles ______________________

B. On which parts of the body are the following surgical procedures carried out?

1. laparotomy ______________________

2. mastectomy ______________________

3. thoracocentesis ______________________

4. cheiroplasty ______________________

C. Match the following word elements with their meaning.

_____ 1. aden/o- a. brain


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MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY Unit 1

_____ 2. bronch/o- b. abdomen

_____ 3. encephal/o- c. bronchus

_____ 4. gloss/o- d. bone

_____ 5. lapar/o- e. gland

_____ 6. oste/o- g. tongue

Activity 3

Choose the correct form of the word and give its definition.

1. a. neuphr/o b. neprect/o c. nephr/o

Definition: ___________________

2. a. rhinit/o b. rhin/o c. rhen/o

Definition: ___________________

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MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY Unit 1

3. a. pharang/o b. pharyng/o c. pragyn/o

Definition: ___________________

4. a. chost/o b. cost/o c. costol/o

Definition: ___________________

5. a. ven/o b. veni/o c. vein/o

Definition: ___________________

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