This document provides an overview of medical terminology including: - Breaking down medical terms into their component parts such as roots, prefixes, suffixes, and combining forms to understand meanings. - The five language skills needed for effective communication in healthcare: reading, listening, thinking/analyzing, writing, and speaking. - Examples of common medical terms and their breakdown including hematology, electrocardiogram, and gastroscope. - Rules for forming plurals of medical terms and exceptions. - An assignment instructing students to read the first chapter, complete exercises matching terms and definitions, and answer questions about word parts, suffixes, prefixes, and contrasting prefixes.

1. Medical Terminology
Basic Word Structure
Chapter One.
Chapter objectives
To divide medical terms into component parts.
To analyze, pronounce, and spell medical terms using common
combining forms, suffixes, and prefixes.
2
Medical Language
You decided to pursue a career in the health care field and you
will know so many new sights and sounds, also you want to
embrace the medical culture and become part of it.
Your first attempts at interacting with other healthcare
professionals are successful because you know medical
language.
Immediately, you are immersed in interesting medical activities
and important conversations, and you understand what is going
on.
Your future in the healthcare is certain because you took the

2. time to study medical language.
Medical language is the language of the healthcare profession,
and medical words are the tools of the trade!
Learning medical language is your key to a successful career in
the healthcare field.
Medical Language and communication.
Communication in any language consists of five language
skills. You need to master all five skills in order to
communicate on the job with other healthcare professional.
Reading
Listening
Thinking, analyzing, and understanding.
Writing (or typing) and spelling
Speaking and pronouncing.
- These skills are critical in the communication of medical
language, and you will develop all five skills by given you
many opportunities to practice until you have mastered all of
them.
Word Analysis
If you work in a medical setting, you use medical words every
day.
In addition, you hear medical terms spoken in your doctor’s
office, read about health issues, and make daily decisions about
your own health care and the health care of your family.
Terms such as: arthritis, electrocardiogram, hepatitis, and
anemia describe conditions and tests that are familiar.
Other medical words are more complicated, but as you work in
this course, you will begin to understand them even if you have
never studied biology or science.
Medical words are like individual jigsaw puzzles. Once you

3. divide the terms into their components and learns the meaning
of the individual parts, you can use that knowledge to
understand many other new terms.
For example, the term HEMATOLOGY is divide into three
parts:
HEMAT/O/LOGY
Root
(Blood)
Combining
vowel
Suffix
(study of)
Hematology
When you analyze a medical term, begin at the END of the
word. The ending is called a SUFFIX.
All Medical terms contain suffixes. The suffix in Hematology is
–LOGY, which means study of.
Next, look at the beginning of the term. HEMAT- is the word
root. The root gives the essential meaning of the term. The root
HEMAT- means blood.
The third part of this term, which is the letter 0, has no meaning
of its own but is an important connector between the root
(HEMA-) and the suffix (-LOGY). It is called a combining
vowel.
The letter O is the combining vowel usually found in Medical
terms.
Now put together meanings of the suffix and the root:
HEMATOLOGY means study of the blood.
Electrocardiogram

4. ELECTR/O/CARDI/O/GRAM
Root
electricity
Combining
vowel
Root
(Heart)
Combining
vowel
Suffix
(record)
The sound made by contraction and relaxation of the heart
muscle is called the Heartbeat
Combining form
The combining vowel plus the root is called a COMBINING
FORM.
For example, there are two combining forms in the word
ELECTROCARDIOGRAM, these combining forms are
ELECTR/O meaning electricity, and CARDI/O, meaning heart.
Gastroscope: Gastr/ combining form (stomach) scope: suffix
(Instrument to examine)
GASTR/IC: GASTR (stomach) IC suffix ( pertaining to).
Means pertaining to the stomach. Notice that the combining
word is dropped when the suffix (-IC) begins with a vowel.
Words ending with –IC are adjectives that modify a noun (e.g.,
gastric pain, gastric cancer).
Words ending in –AC are adjectives ( e.g., cardiac care, cardiac
arrest)
ENTER/ITIS: Enter: root (Intestines) and ITIS suffix (
Inflammation).
Notice again that the combining vowel (O) is dropped because
the suffix (-ITIS) begins with a vowel .

5. Prefix
Many medical terms have a word part attached to the beginning
of the term. This is called a PREFIX, and it can change the
meaning of a term in important ways:
For example watch what happens to the meaning of the
following medical terms when the prefix changes:
SUB/gastr/ic: SUB is prefix that means pertaining to below the
stomach.
TRANS/gastr/ic: TRANS is a prefix ( Across) that means
pertaining to across the stomach.
RETRO/gastri/ic: Retro is a prefix ( behind) that means
pertaining to behind the stomach.
Prefix
A- An no, not Anemia
Aut Self Autopsy ( Examining a dead
body with one’s
own (self) eyes
Dia Complete Diagnosis
Dys Bad, painful Dysentery
Endo Within Endocrine glands.
Endocardium
Exo Outside Exocrine glands
Hyper Excessive Hyperglycemia
Hypo Below Hypoglycemia
Pro Before, forward Prostate gland
Re Back Resection
Retro Behind Retrogastric
Sub Below, under Subhepatic
Trans Across, through Transdermal, Transurethral.
Suffixes

6. Al Neural
Algia Pain Arthralgia.
Neuralgia.
Cyte Cell Leukocyte
Ectomy Cutting out
Removal. Gastrectomy
Emia Blood condition Leukemia
Globin Protein Hemoglobin
Gram Record Arthrogram.
Ia Condition Cephalgia
Ism Condition,
Process Hyperthyoroidism
Itis Inflammation Gastroenteritis
Logist specialist in Neurologist
Osis abnormal condition Nephrosis
Scope Instrument to
examine. Gastroscope
Combining form meaning Medical term Meaning
Cyst/o Urinary bladder
Cystoscope.
Aden/o Gland Adenoma OMA:
tumor mass
Adenitis IT IS:
Inflammation
Arthr/o Joint Arthritis
Bi/O Life Biology -Logy
study of

7. Biopsy -OPSY. Living tissues are removed.
Carcin/o Cancer Carcinoma
Cardi/o Heart Cardiology
Cephal/o Head Cephalic.
Hemat/o Hematoma. Mass of blood trapped in tissues.
Cyt/o Cell Cytology
Derm/o Skin Dermal
Dermat/o Dermatitis
Encephal/o Brain Electroencephalogram (EEG)
Erythr/o Red Erythrocyte. Red blood cell.
Gastr/o Stomach Gastroscopy. (Visual
examination using an instrument or “scope”
Gnos/o Knowledge Diagnosis. -SIS means state of;
DIA- means complete.
A diagnosis is the complete knowledge gained after testing and
examining the patient.
The plural of Diagnosis is diagnoses.
Prognosis: Pro- means before. A prognosis is a prediction
(before knowledge) that is actually
made after the diagnosis. It forecasts the outcome of treatment.
Gynec/o Women-Female Gynecology. Gynecologist.
Lapar/o abdomen Laparotomy.
-TOMY means incision (
cutting into).
- Exploratory laparotomy is
a large incision to inspect
abdominal organs for
evidences of disease.
Leuk/o White Leukocyte
Nephr/o Kidney Nephrectomy. Ectomy

8. resection of an organ.
Neur/o Nerve Neurology
Onc/o Tumor Oncologist.
-ist means a specialist
Ophthalm/o Eye Ophthalmoscope.
Ophthalmologist .
Oste/o Bone Osteoarthritis.
(Degenerative changes and loss of
cartilage in knee joint)
Path/o Disease Pathologist.
Ren/o Kidney Renal
Rhin/o Nose Rhinitis
Sarc/o Flesh Sarcoma: Sarcoma grow
from the fleshy tissues of the body
as muscle, fat, bone,
cartilage.
Carcinoma: Arise from
skin tissue and the linings of internal
organs.
Thromb/o Clotting Thrombocyte –
Thrombosis.
Formation of Plural
Words ending in a, retain the a and add e:
Vertebra – Vertebrae - backbones.
Bursa - Bursae- Sacs or fluid near a joint.
Words ending in IS, drop the IS and added es:
Diagnosis - Diagnoses
Psychosis - Psychoses Abnormal conditions of the mind.
Words ending in ex or ix, drop the ex or ix and add ices:
Apex - Apices Pointed ends of organs
Cortex - Cortices Outer parts of the organs
Varix -- Varices Enlarged, swollen veins.

9. Words ending in on, drop the on and added a:
Ganglion -- Ganglia Group of the nerve cells, benign
cysts near a joint.
Words ending in us, drop the us and added I
Bronchus -- Bronchi
Calculus - Calculi.
Exceptions to this rule are viruses and sinuses.
15
First Week Assignment
Medical Terminology
TEXT AND MATERIALS:
Medical Terminology for Health Professions. Erlich, Ann &
Schroeder, Carol L. Delmar-Cengage, 2017. Eigth Edition.
ISBN: 978-1-305-63435-0.
A. Read Chapter 1.
Text Book: Medical Terminology for Health Professions. 7th
edition. Author: Ann Ehrlich.
B. Answer Learning Exercises
* Matching words parts 1, 2, 3, and 4
* Definitions
*Matching Terms and Definitions 1, 2
C. Answer the following questions base in chapter 1:
1. Define Word root, mention 5 examples.
2. Define Suffixes, mention 5 examples.

10. 3. Define Prefixes, mention 5 examples.
4. Some prefixes are confusing because they are similar in
spelling, but opposite in meaning, those are call Contrasting
Prefixes; mention 5 examples and their meaning.
Note: Please send this assignment as a Normal Microsoft office
Word, attach the file in the normal assignment link in
Blackboard, and before submit it confirm the attached file.
Also be alert about the due date, late submitting will be low
grade itor not accepted.