Cell Biology (BIOL-A360)

Roots, Prefixes, and Suffixes

a(n)- without ab- away from

abduc- lead from aceto- acid
actin- ray acous- to hear
acro- top, height, beginning act- do
ad- towards adeno- gland
adipo- fat aero- air, oxygen
affer- carrying to alb- white
-algia- pain allo- equal to, related to
alve- pit, socket ambi- both
ambul - walk, move ami(o)- love
amphi- both, double, around amyl- starch
an- without ana- up, back, again
andro- male angio- vessel
anim- life, spirit ann- year
anomo- lawless, irregular ante- before
antho- flower anthro- man
anti- against, opposite apo- separate, from
aqua- water arbor- tree
arch(i)- chief, most archa(e), archi- primitive, ancient
are- space arthro- joint
artic- jointed -asis- affected with, with
ast(e)r- star aud(i)(io)- hear
aur- ear, gold auto- self
aux- grow avi(a)- bird
axi- axis bar(o)- pressure, weight
basi-, baso- at the bottom bene- good, well
bi(n)- two, twice bi(ola)- life
blast(o)- germ, bud, cell bronch- windpipe
caec- blind calor- heat
cani- dog capill- hair
cardi(o)- heart carn(i)- flesh, meat
cata- down, lower, under cauda- tail
caust, caut- to burn cav- hollow
centi- hundred ceph(al)- head, brain
cerebr(o)- brain cerv- neck
chlor- green chondr- cartilage
chrom- color chron(o)- time
cide- cut, kill cili- eyelash
circum- around, about clar- clear
clast- broken coccus -berry, grain
coel- hollow com- with, together
con- with, jointly contra(o)- opposite, against
coron- crown corp(o)- body
cost- rib counter- against, opposite
crani- skull cryo- cold
cumul - mass, heap cuti- skin
cyan- blue cycl- circle, ring
cyst- capsule, sac, vesicle cyto- cell
dactyl- finger de- reduce, away, remove
dec(a), deka- ten deci- a tenth
demi- half dem(o)- people
dendr- tree dent, dont- tooth
derm- skin desmo- band
deut- second dextro- right
di(a)- two dia- through, across, between
dict- speak digit- finger
diplo- double dorso- back
duct- to lead duo- two
dur- hard, lasting dyna- power , energy
dys- abnormal, bad, difficult echino- spiny
ecto- outside external -ectomy- remove, excise
effer- carrying away em- in, into
-emia- blood condition or disease en- in, into
encephalo- brain endo- inside, within
epi- upon, above, among equi- horse, equal
erythro- red eu- well, good, true
ex- out of, outer exo- outside
extra- beyond, outside feli- cat
-fer, -ferent- carry, bring fil- thread
flagell- whip flect- bend
foramen- opening -form- shape
fract-, frag- break gam-, gamo- united, joined, sexual
gangli- knot gast(e)r- stomach, pouch
gen- produce, to give birth -genic- producing, generating
geo- earth, soil ger- old age
giga- a billion glia- glue
glyco- sugar, sweet gnath- jaw
gon- angle gono- seed, sexual, reproductive
-gram, -graph- write, record gyn- woman, female
halo- salt, sea haplo- single, simple
hect- hundred heli(o)- sun
helic(o)- spiral, circular hema-, hemo- blood
hemi- half hepa(r/t)- liver
hepta- seven herbi- grass, plant
hetero- different hex(a)- six
hist(o)- tissue holo- complete, whole
homo- like, same hormon- that which excites
hyal- glassy hydr- water
hygr(o)- moisture, humidity hyper- above, excessive
hypo- beneath, under iatr(o)- medical care
-ichthy- fish idio- peculiar, personal, distinct
im-, in- not, without infra- under, below, beneath
inter- between intra- within
ir- not iso- equal
-itis- inflammation karyo- nucleus, nut
kerat- horn, cornea kilo- thousand
-kine(t)- movement, motion lact(o)- milk
leuc(o)-, leuk(o)- white, colorless lig- to bind
ling- tongue lipo- fat
lith- stone -log(y)- science of, study of lumen- cavity
luc- light lumin- light
luna- moon -lysis- decomposition, destruction
macro- large magni- large
mal- bad, abnormal mamma- breast
mandib- lower jaw mania- madness, insanity
manu- hand mar(i)- sea
maxi- large maxill- jaw
medi- medium mega- large, great
melan- black, dark menin(x,g)- membrane
meso- middle meta- after, change, beyond
micro- small mid- middle
milli- one thousandth min- smaller
mono- one mor(t)- to die
morph- form multi- many
muri- mouse myel- spinal cord
myo- muscle nas- nose
nat- born necro- death, corpse
nema(to)- thread, thread-like neo- new
nephr(o)- kidney neur(o)- nerve
non- not nona- nine
-nose, -nosis- disease noto- back, south
oct- eight ocu- eye
odont- tooth -oid- like
olfact- smelling oligo- few, little
-oma- tumor omni- all
oo- egg op(t),(s)- eye
ophthalmo- eye or- mouth
orbi- circle, sphere ornith- bird
ortho- straight, normal, upright -osis- affected with, abnormal process
os(ti)- mouth osteo- bone
ot- ear -otomy- act of cutting, incision
ov(o)- egg pachy- thick
pan- all par(a)- near, around, beside
path(y)- disease ped- foot
pent- five pept-, peps- digestion
peri- around, enclosing petr- rock
phag(e)- eat pher- carry
phil- love -phob- fear
phon(o)- sound -phor(e)- carry, bear
pho(s/to)- light phyll(o)- leaf
phys- nature, medicine, the body phyt(e/o)- plant
pisc- fish -plasia- growth
-plasm- material, matter -plast- cell
-plegia- paralysis pneu(mo/st)- air, lung
pod- foot -poiesis- production, creation
poly- many porc- pig
post- after pre- before
prim- first pro- in front of, before, for
proct- anus prot(o)- primitive, first, chief
pseud(0)- false psych(o)- mind; spirit
pulmo- lung pyro- heat, fire
quad- four quart- fourth
quin(t/que)- five radi- root
ran- frog re- back, again
rect- straight ren- kidney
reptans- crawling retic- network
retro- behind, backward -rhage- tear, rent
rhin- nose, snout rhodo- red
-rrh(agia, ea)- excessive flow rostr- beak, prow
rota- wheel rub(e)r- red
-rupt- to break, burst sacchar- sugar
sal- salt san- health
schis-, schizo- split sci- know
scler(o)- hard -scope, -scopy- observation
sect- cut semi- half
sens- feel, perceive sept- seven, wall
septic- poison ser(olu)- any body fluid
sex- six simi- monkey
sinus- hollow, bay sipho- tube
sol- sun soma- body
somni- sleep sperm- seed, male reproductive cell
sphinct- closing spir(o)- respiration
squam- scale staphylo- bunch of grapes, cluster
stell- star stern- breastbone
stom- mouth strat- layer
strict- draw tight, squeeze, exact sub- below, inferior
sucr- sugar super- beyond, above, excessive
supra- above sym, syn – with, together, same
sys- with tachy- fast, accelerated
tact- touch tect(um)- covered, covering
teg- covering tel (e/o)- far, end, distance
ter(ti)- three tetr- four
thalam- chamber, bed therm(o)- heat
thorac- chest -tomy- act of cutting, incision
tox- poison, poisonous trache- trachea, windpipe
trans- across tri- three
trich- hair, thread-like trop(ism)- turning
troph- feed tussi- cough
ultra- above, extreme un- not
uni- one, single vas- vessel
ven- vein ventr- belly
verd- green versi- various
vid-, vis- see visc- organs of body cavity
vit-, viv- life vitell- yolk
vitr- glass vor-, vour- eat
xeno- strange, foreign xer(o)- dry
zo(o)- animal zyg(o)- pair