Professional Documents
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Medical Terminology
MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY
Root word
Suffix
Prefixes
Combining vowel
Combining form
ROOT WORD
Root Word – foundation of the word, usually
indicates the involved body part
Examples:
cardi -
cephal –
gastr –
cyt –
A medical term can have one or more root words.
Ex. – cardi/o/thorac/ic = pertaining to heart and
chest
SUFFIXES
Word ending; usually indicates a procedure,
condition, disorder or disease.
Read from the suffix backwards to the root
word for the correct meaning.
Suffixes can be nouns or adjectives
All medical words have suffixes
Examples:
-itis -ic
-logy -lysis
PREFIXES
Word beginning; usually indicates location,
time, or a number
Not all medical words have prefixes
Examples:
a-
pre-
hyper-
sub-
COMBINING VOWELS
AND FORMS
Combining Vowel
A vowel that links two word parts together
Usually an ‘o’
Has no meaning of it’s own
Remember!