MEDICAL TERMINOLOGIES AND cranio = skull osteo = bone

ABBREVIATIONS
Prefixes
MEDICAL TERMINOLOGIES iso- = same pseudo- = false
Most medical terms are derived from Greek and Latin anaero- = without oxygen
words. Since clinical laboratory personnel are in constant micro- = small mono-: one
communication with other health care personnel, homo- = same, like macro- = large
patients, and family members on a daily basis, they need nano- = billionth cryo- = cold
to be familiar with the abbreviations a of common intra- = inside/within. hypo- = decreased
medical terms. neo- = new
A medical term has three basic parts-the root word, the
prefix, and the suffix. Suffixes
The root word is the main part of the medical term that -itis = inflammation of
denotes the meaning of the word. -poiesis = formation
-pathy = disease
Examples: -megaly = enlargement
colo – colon hemat – blood -meter = measure
phlebo - vein aero – air -penia = deficiency
-blast = young
The prefix is found at the beginning of the term, and it -ectomy = surgical removal
shows how meaning is assigned to the word. -oma = tumour, growth
-cidal = killing of
Examples: -emia = blood condition
a-/an- - without, absence poly- - many -tome = cutting instrument
hyper- - meaning increased/above pre- - before
ABBREVIATIONS
On the other hand, the suffix is found at the terminal Listed below are the commonly encountered abbreviations in
portion or at the end of the term. It also denotes the the health care practice that
meaning to the root word. medical technology students should know:
DOH - Department of Health
Examples: CHED - Commission on Higher Education VDRL - Venereal
-megaly – enlargement -emia - blood Disease Research Laboratories
-uria – urine -ostomy- to make an opening or mouth AIDS - Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
AIDs - Autoimmune disorders/diseases
It is a rule that if the suffix starts with a consonant, a AMI - Acute Myocardial Infarction
combining vowel needs to be used (usually the letter O). BUN - Blood Urea Nitrogen
The combining vowel does not change the meaning of 2PPBS - 2 hours Postprandial Blood Sugar
the root word and is added in order to make the AFS - Acid Fast Stain
pronunciation of the word easier. The combining vowel is PCQACL - Philippine Council for Quality Assurance in the
added between the root word and the suffix. Clinical Laboratories
Examples: FBS - Fasting Blood Sugar
IV - Intravenous
hemat + logy = hematology - study of blood HIV - Human Immunodeficiency Virus
phlebo + tory = phlebotomy - the process of cutting into IU - International Unit
the vein using a needle ICU - Intensive Care Unit
Singular Plural Singular Plural K - Potassium
bacterium bacteria bacillus bacilli Na - Sodium
nucleus nuclei ovum ova NPO - Nothing Per Orem
thrombus thrombi spermatozoon spermatozoa BAP - Blood Agar Plate

Root Words KEY POINTS

 Medical technologist must be knowledgeable in defining
cardio = heart arthro = joint medical terms and using them correctly in
thrombo = clot myo = muscle communicating with other health care personnel.
heap/hepato = liver pyro = fever
arterio = artery Pyo = pus
nephro = kidney cyto = cell
 Knowing the common key terms will be very handy in the
medical technology profession. day-to-day practice of the
medical profession