8 Thought 9 Understanding Difficult Biology Words bay Roy Pe ee By Regina Bailey Updated May 27, 2019 One of the keys to being successful in biology is being able to understand the terminology. Difficult biology words and terms can be made easy to understand by becoming familiar with common prefixes and suffixes used in biology. These affixes, derived from Latin and Greek roots, form the basis for many difficult biology words. use of cookies.ThoughtCo uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. By using ThoughtCo, you accept our use of cookies,Autotroph This word can be separated as follows: uto - troph. Auto - means self, troph - means nourish. Autotrophs are organisms capable of self- nourishment. Cytokinesis ‘This word can be separated as follows: Cyto - kinesis. Cyto - means cell, kinesis - means movement. Cytokinesis refers to the movement of the cytoplasm that produces distinct daughter cells during cell division. Eukaryote ThoughtCo uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. By using ThoughtCo, you accept our use of cookies,This word can be separated as follows: Hetero - zyg - ous. Hetero - means different, zyg - means yolk or union, ous - means characterized by or full of, Heterozygous refers to a union characterized by the joining of two different alleles for a given trait. Hydrophilic ‘This word can be separated as follows: Hydro - philic. Hydro - refers to water, philic - means love. Hydrophilic means water-loving. Oligosaccharide This word can be separated as follows: Oligo - saccharide. ThoughtCo uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. By using ThoughtCo, you accept our use of cookies,is a cell from which bone is derived. Tegmentum This word can be separated as follows: Teg - ment - um. Teg - means cover, ment - refers to mind or brain. The tegmentum is the bundle of fibers that cover the brain. Key Takeaways ThoughtCo uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. By using ThoughtCo, you accept our use of cookies,By breaking these difficult terms down into their formative units, even the most complex biological words can be easily understood. Additional Biology Terms For more practice with breaking down biology terms, review the words below. The main prefixes and suffixes used are angio-, -troph, and -trophy. Allotroph (allo - troph) Allotrophs are organisms that get their energy from food obtained from their environments. Angiostenosis (angio - stenosis) Refers to the narrowing of a vessel, particularly a blood vessel. Angiomyogenesis (angio - myo - genesis) A medical term referring to the regeneration of heart tissue. Angiostimulatory (angio - stimulatory) Refers to the growth and stimulation of blood vessels. Axonotrophy (axono - trophy) Isa condition where axons are destroyed due to disease. Biotrophs are parasites that do not kill their hosts. They establish a long-term infection to continue to get their energy from the living cells. Bradytroph (brady - troph) Bradytroph refers to an organism that experiences very slow growth without a particular substance. Cellulotrophy (cellulo - trophy) ‘This term refers to the digestion of cellulose, an organic polymer. Chemotrophy (chemo - trophy) Chemotrophy refers to an organism making its energy by the oxidation of molecules. ThoughtCo uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. By using ThoughtCo, you accept our use of cookies.Oligotroph (oligo - troph) Organisms that can live in places with very few nutrients are called oligotrophs. Oxalotrophy (oxalo - trophy) Refers to organisms that metabolize oxalates or oxalic acid. Biology Word Dissections For more information on how to understand difficult biology words or terms see: Biology Word Dissections - Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovoleanoconiosis. Yes, this is an actual word. What does it mean? Cite this Article 99) A. Biology Prefixes and Suffixes Index Basics Biology Prefixes and Suffixes: ThoughtCo uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. By using ThoughtCo, you accept our use of cookies,Basics Biology Prefixes and Suffixes: phago- or phag- Basics Biology Prefixes and Suffixes: haplo- Understanding the Definition of the “Auto" Prefix in Biology Basics Biology Suffixes Phagia and Phage y : i ey Biology Prefixes and Suffixes: Zoo- or Zo- End- or Endo- Biology Prefixes and use of cookies.Basics Biology Prefixes and Suffixes: staphylo-, staphyl- Anatomy Human Anatomy Study Tips Basis Basics Biology Prefixes and Suffixes: Biology Prefixes and Suffixes: -phyll dactyl-, -dactyl or-phyl Basics Basics use of cookies.Co. 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