Prajogo

Medical terminology is
a special vocabulary used by health care professionals

for effective and accurate communication

consistent and uniform throughtout the world,

because it is based mainly on Greek and Latin words

Prefix

Root

Prefix

Root

Suffix

Suffix

Most medical terms can be divided into component

parts-roots, prefixes, and suffixes-that maintain the

same meaning whenever they appear.
The fundamental unit of each medical world is the

root. This establishes the basic meaning of the word

and is the part to which modifying prefixes and
suffixes are added.

examples
The Greek word kardia, meaning heart, gives us the

root cardi
The Latin word pulmo, meaning lung, gives us the
root pulm
We find both the Greek root nephr and the Latin root
ren used in words pertaining the kidney
Some compound medical words are cardiovascular

(pertaining to the heart and blood vessels), urogenital

(pertaining to the urinary and reproductive systems)

COMBINING
Root o Suffix
A combining vowel (o) may be added between a root
and a suffix
Neur + o + logy = neurology (study of the nervous
system)
Root - 0
Neur/o
Neur + itis = neuritis (inflamation of a nerve)

Word derivations
Muscle comes from a latin word that means mouse

because the movement of a muscle under the skin was

thought to resemble the scampering of a mouse.
The coccyx, the tail end of the spine, is named for the

cuckoo because it was thought to resemble the

cuckoos bill.

Pronunciation
a is in hat

e is in met
i as in bin
o as in some
u as in run
as is in say

as is in tea
as is in lie
as in hose
as is in sue
The accented syllable in each word is shown with capital letters

 Cerebrum (SER-e-brum)
Cerebrospinal (ser-e-br-SP-nal)
Duodenum (d--D-num)

Skeletal (SKEL-e-tal)
Apnea (AP-n-a) meaning cessation of breathing
Prognosis (prog-N-sis) meaning prediction of the

outcome of disease

SYMBOLS
Symbols are commonly used in case histories as a form

of shorthand.
Some examples are L and R for left and right; and
for increase and decrease.

SILENT LETTER
LETTERS

PRONUNCIATION

EXAMPLE

DEFINITION OF
EXAMPLE

ch

chemical

Pertaining to chemistry

dys

dis

dystrophy

Poor nourishment of tissue

eu

euphoria

Exaggerated feeling of wellbeing

gn

gnathic

Pertaining to the jaw

ph

pharmacy

A drug dispensary

pn

pneumonia

Inflammation of the lungs

ps

Pseudo-

False

pt

ptosis

Dropping

rh

rheumatic

Pertaining to rheumatism, a
disorder of muscles and
joints

xiphoid

Pertaining to cartilage
attached to the sternum

NOUN SUFFIXES
SUFFIXES THAT MEANS CONDITION OF
SUFFIX

EXAMPLE

DEFINITION OF
EXAMPLE

-ia

phobia

Persistent and
exaggerated fear

-ism

alcoholism

Impaired control of
alcohol use

-sis

acidosis

Acid condition of boy

fluids

-y

tetany

Sustained muscle
contraction

SUFFIXES FOR MEDICAL SPECIALTIES

SUFFIX

MEANING

EXAMPLE

DEFINITION OF
EXAMPLE

-ian

Specialist in a field of
study

physician

Practioner of medicine
(root physilo=nature)

-iatrics

Medical specialty

geriatrics

Study and treatment of

the aged (root ger/i=old
age)

-ics

Medical specialty

orthopedics

Study and treatment of

the skeleton and joints
(fromm root
pedlo=child, and prefix
ortho=straight)

-iatry

Medical specialty

Podiatry

Study and treatment of

the foot (root pod/o,
meaning foot)

-ist

Specialist in a field of
study

Cardiologist

Specialist in the study

and treatment of the
heart

-logy

Study of

physiology

Study of function in
aliving organism