PREFIXES FOR NUMBERS

PREFIX MEANING EXAMPLE MEDICAL TERM

brady- slow bradycardia
prim/i- first primitive
mon/o- single; one monocular
uni- one unicellular
hemi- one side; half hemisphere
semi- partial; half semisolid
bi- two, twice bicuspid
di- two, twice dimorphous
dipl/o double diploid
tri- three triplet
quadr/i- four quadrant
tetra- four tetrahedron
multi- many multiple
poly- excessive polysaccharide
quadr- four quadriplegia
tachy- fast tachypnea
nulli- none nulliparous

PREFIX FOR COLORS

PREFIX MEANING EXAMPLE MEDICAL TERM

cyan/o- blue cyanosis
erythr/o- red erythrocyte
leuk/o white, colorless leukocyte
melan/o- black, dark melanin
xanth/o- yellow xanthoderma
chlor/o-, chloros green
cirrhos- orange-yellow
lutein saffron yellow
melan- black
poli/o- gray
xero- dry
crypt/o- hidden cryptorchidism

NEGATIVE PREFIXES
PREFIX MEANING EXAMPLE MEDICAL TERM
a-, an- without; not aseptic
anti- against antidote
contra- opposite; against contraception
de- down, without depilatory
dis- absence, removal dissect
dys- difficulty dysmenorrhea
in-*; im- not insignificant
non- not noninfectious
un- not unconscious

* May also mean “in” or “into as in inject, inhale.

PREFIXES FOR DIRECTION

PREFIX MEANING EXAMPLE MEDICAL TERM

ab- away from abduct
ad- near; toward adduct
ambi- / ampho- both ambidextrous
amphi- on both sides; double amphibious
ana- up, toward Anacatharsis
antero- front anterolateral
dia- through, across dialysis
ecto- / exo- Outer, outside ectoderm
endo- / ento- within, inner endocranial
epi- upon, over epidermis
infra- beneath; below, inframaxillary
inter- between intercostal
intra- within intravenous
meso- middle Mesonasal
per- through percutaneous
trans- through transfusion

PREFIXES FOR DEGREE

PREFIX MEANING EXAMPLE MEDICAL TERM
hyper- Increased, abnormally high, over, hyperventilation
excess

hypo- decreased; below normal hypoxia

olig/o- few, scanty oligomenorrhea
pan- all, entire panacea
supra- above (usually used to pertain for structure) Suprapubic
super- excess supernumerary
ultra- beyond, excess ultrasonic

PREFIX FOR SIZE AND COMPARISON

PREFIX MEANING EXAMPLE MEDICAL TERM

Auto- Self Autoanalysis

Equi- equal, same equilateral
Eu- normal, good, easy euthanasia
Hetero- different, other, unequal heterosexual
Homo-, homeo- same, unchanging homothermic
Iso- equal, same isograft
Macro- large, abnormally large macrocyte
Megaly-, megalo- large; abnormally large megabladder
Micro- small microscopic
Neo- new neonate
Normo- normal normovolemia
Ortho- straight, correct, upright orthotic
Poikilo- varied, irregular poikiloderma
Pseudo- false pseudoplegia
Re- again; back regurgitation

PREFIXES FOR TIME and/or POSITION

PREFIX MEANING EXAMPLE MEDICAL TERM

ante- before antenatal
dextr/o- right dextrocardia
ec-, ecto out, outside ectoderm
ex/o- away from, outside excise
end/o- in, within endoscope
latero- to the side
levo- left
medio- middle
mes/o- middle mesencephalon
neo- new, recent neonatal
para- beside, after Paracardiac
peri- around Periorbital
pre- before, in front of predisposing
pro- before, in front of prodrome
post- after, behind postmenopausal
postero- behind
retro- backward, behind Retrograde
sinistr/o- left sinistrad
sub- under, beneath subcutaneous
syn-, sym- together synapse

MISCELLANOUS TERMS (may also be used as root word)

PREFIX MEANING EXAMPLE MEDICAL TERM

aero- air
andro- man
bio- life
gluc- / gluco sugar
glyc- / glyco sugar
gyne- woman
hetero- different heterosexual
hydro- water hydrocephalus
lipo- fat liposuction
mal- bad malnutrition
necro- death
noct- night
pyo- pus
tele- ; tel end, faraway, at distance
cryo- /cry- Cold or freeze
Myco- Fungus