Introduction to Medical Terminology 1

Lesson 1 Overview

Medical terminology plays a vital role in the medical field. It’s the foundation for all medical professions. The easiest way to master medical terminology is to understand the way medical terms are constructed—how small parts are combined together to build a medical meaning— and that’s exactly what you’ll be learning in this lesson. This lesson provides a detailed introduction to medical terminology and will help you develop a strong basis for your professional vocabulary.

The second half of this lesson covers a brief overview of the human body and body functions. You probably have a general understanding of how your body works, but do you fully comprehend how all of the intricate functions and systems of the human body work together to keep you healthy? This lesson will assist you with all the major body systems and bodily functions. 

 

Lesson Objectives

• Summarize the history of medical terminology and how terms are formed
• Describe the relationships among the structures of the body
• Differentiate the positional and directional terms used to describe anatomical locations
• Identify the nutrients that fuel basic body functions

 

The Language of Medicine

The medical language dates back to the fourth and fifth century B.C.E. Hippocrates was a Greek physician who lived during the fourth century B.C.E. The Hippocratic Oath, named in his honor, is taken by physicians before they begin their medical practice. He is often called the "Father of Medicine," and we've inherited much of our medical language from him.

The vocabulary of medicine originates from the Greek and Latin languages, with some words derived from both. Often, our words for body organs come from Latin, yet the diseases and procedures that affect these organs come from Greek. For instance, the Latin-based word uterus refers to the organ, yet we call the removal of this organ a hysterectomy, from hyster, Greek for "womb." From another Greek word for uterus, metra, we get the word endometrium for "the inner lining of the uterus." 

Latin 

Primum Non Nocere.

English

First Do Not Harm.

 

Although most medical terms originate from Greek and Latin, some terms have developed under modern circumstances. You'll come across medical vocabulary words that are eponyms, terms that are named for the person who discovered the illness or procedure. For example, Parkinson's disease is named for James Parkinson, an English surgeon. 

Another component to medical terminology is acronyms. An acronym is an abbreviation formed from the initial letter or letters of a word or phrase. For example, CVA is an abbreviation for cerebrovascular accident. Again, while most medical terms are of Greek and Latin origin, it's important to remember that medical terminology has continued to evolve throughout the centuries. 

 

How Medical Terms are Formed

Learning medical terminology is similar to learning a foreign language. Learning another language isn't just a matter of memorizing the vocabulary. There's a certain code to any language. Individual words, as well as groups of words, have specific meanings that depend on the order of parts. If you get the order mixed up, you'll change the meaning or make the words meaningless. If you know the meanings of the word parts and how those parts function in combination with each other, you can figure out almost any word you hear. These are the component parts—word elements—you'll be looking for when analyzing medical terms:

Prefix: A unit of meaning attached to the front of a word. For example, the prefix AB- means "away from," so abnormal is "away from normal."

Root: The core or foundation of the word's meaning. All medical terms have at least one root word. The root of abnormal is NORM, meaning "rule, order."

Combining Vowel: A vowel (most often o) added to the end of the root, without changing the meaning. A combining vowel is placed between two roots, or between a root and a suffix that begins with a consonant, to help make the newly combined word easier to pronounce. If the suffix begins with a vowel, drop the o. 

Combining Form: The root and combining vowel together, as in norm/o. 

Suffix: A unit of meaning attached to the end of the word. The -AL in abnormal is a suffix meaning "pertaining to."

 

The hyphen after the prefix, or before the suffix, means the term isn't a complete word. We'll provide combining forms with a slash between the root and combining vowel. 

AB- The hyphen shows the prefix must be attached to the beginning of a root to be part of a complete word.

NORM/O The slash shows the combining vowel has been added to the root to make a combining form.

-AL The hyphen shows the suffix must be attached to the end of a root to be part of a complete word.

 

Analyzing word parts may take some practice, but you'll notice with time the process will become easier. Let's practice analyzing a word you're familiar with. Without looking it up in the dictionary, you would probably define diagnosis as something like "the underlying cause of a patient's symptoms." Let's call that our plain English translation. And now, a more thorough analysis:

Prefix/Root/Suffix + Combining Vowel = Combining Form

dia- /gnos + o -sis

 

So we have "complete knowledge process." Compared to our plain English translation, that seems backwards. When analyzing medical vocabulary, it's important to begin at the end. Don't put the meanings in the same order as the parts of the word, or you can end up with an inaccurate description. To determine the meaning of a term, first look at the suffix, then the prefix, then the root(s). Since the combining vowel doesn't carry meaning, you don't have to add that into the definition. Thus, the term diagnosis means the "process of complete knowledge."

 

Prefixes and Suffixes

The word prefix begins with a prefix. PRE- means "before, or in front of." The root FIX means "attach, or fasten." Thus, a prefix is attached in front of something. Not every medical term begins with a prefix, but if a prefix is there, it will always be at the beginning of the word. 

We'll be providing you with lists of words to help you memorize the terms you'll need to know as a medical professional. Here's a list of common prefixes that you'll come across in your studies.

Prefix | Meaning

A-           without, away from

AB-         away from

AD-         toward

AN-         without

ANA-       up, apart

ANTE-      before

 

The word suffix comes from the Latin term suffigere, "to fasten underneath." When added to a medical term, a suffix generally turns the word into a diagnosis or medical procedure. For instance, the common suffix -ITIS means "inflammation." Therefore, you can determine the tonsillitis is inflammation of the tonsils, bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchial walls of the lungs, and sinusitis is an inflammation of the sinuses. Another common suffix is -ECTOMY, which means "removal." So, a tonsillectomy is the removal of the tonsils and appendectomy is the removal of the appendix. There are some spelling rules to remember about suffixes. If the suffix begins with a consonant, you usually just add it straight to the combining form. Here is a common list of suffixes for diagnoses and medical procedures or use of instruments. 

Suffix   |   Meaning 

-ALGIA      pain

-CYTE        cell

-CYTOSIS   more than the normal number of cells

-DYNIA       pain

-DERMA     skin condition

-DIPSIA       thirst

 

It's useful to separate suffixes into noun suffixes and adjective suffixes. Remember that nouns name things, and adjectives describe nouns. One of the jobs a suffix can do in a word is change the part of speech. A person suffering from psychosis (noun) will exhibit psychotic (adjective) behavior. Adjective suffixes often have the same definition. Here is a list of adjective suffixes of words that mean "pertaining to."

Adjective Suffixes

Each of the following means "pertaining to." 

Example: cardiac, pertaining to the heart.

-AC      -EAL      -NIC

-AL      -IAC      -ORY

-AN      -IC       -OSE

-AR      -ILE      -OUS

-ARY     -INE     -TIC

-ATIC     -IOR

 

Root Words and Their Combining Forms

Root Word: Just as roots are the foundation of a plant, the root word is the origin of a term. Word roots provide the overall meaning of the medical term. The word root provides information on which body system is involved in the medical term. You could look at prefixes and suffixes as limbs on a tree: cut the limbs off, and they'll die—but the roots will live. The root is the only part that can sometimes "live" by itself as a separate word.

Root Word + Combining Vowel = Combining Form

Combining Vowel: The combining vowel doesn't have a definition, but it's a necessary tool for the pronunciation of the medical term. Combining vowels are placed between two word roots or a word root and a suffix. Understanding when to use a combining vowel might seem complex, but we'll provide you with some simple rules to make this process easy.

Root Word + Combining Vowel = Combining Form

Combining Form: Combining forms are developed from word roots and combining vowels. The rule for using a combining vowel with a word root and suffix is to determine if the suffix begins with a consonant or a vowel. If the suffix starts with a vowel, you won't need to use the combining vowel.

However, if the suffix starts with a consonant, you'll need to use the combining vowel, as in the term atherosclerosis (ather + sclerosis). A medical term that has two word roots often needs the combining vowel due to pronunciation issues, as in cardiogram (cardi + gram).

Root Word + Combining Vowel = Combining Form

Practice With Common Word Roots: Here is a list of commonly used word roots. Practice using the combining vowels.

CARDIO/O       Heart           Cardiology—study of the heart

DERMAT/O       Skin             Dermatitis—inflammation of the skin

ELECTR/O       Electricity     Electrocardiography—process of recording electrical heart activity

OSTE/O            Bone           Osteotome—instrument used to cut bone

PULMON/O     Lung            Pulmonary—pertaining to the lungs