Basic Word Structure.
Medical words are made up of the following word parts: roots, suffixes, and prefixes. Not all medical words have all three parts, but we will start by looking at an example that does.
The word perineuritis (per-ih-nyoo-rye-tis), it means inflammation around a nerve. When you break the word into its word parts, you will have the following.
The rise part, peri- is prefix, whenever a prefix stands alone in this text, it is followed by a hyphen, as can be seen in the above example.
The root in this example is neur. A root is usually (but not always) a body part.
The last part of the example is suffix, -itis. Whenever a suffix stands alone in this text it is preceded by a hyphen.
Once you learn roots, suffixes, and prefixes you will be able to define words you have not seen before by simply analyzing the word using the method described in the next section.
How to define medical words.
There are three parts of medical words.
1. Identify the suffix first, then the prefix, and then the root. Remember that most words have only two parts that is suffix and root.
2. Define the medical word by starting at the suffix, Find out what it means. Then go to the beginning of the word. It will be either a prefix or a root. Find out what it means. If there is another part, it will be a root. Once you have all the meanings, put them together.
Root: A root is the main part of a medical word. It often refers to a body part.
Combining vowel: Previously, you learned the word perineuritis. In that example, the suffix -itis joined the root neur quite easily. Sometimes, roots and suffixes do not go together as well. For example, if the root hemat was combined with the suffix -logy, the word would be spelled hematology. Try pronouncing this word. You will find it difficult. To make this word easier to pronounce, the letter "o" is added to the end of the root t make the word hematology. The "o" is called a combined vowel.
The combining vowel is usually "o". It can be used to connect a root to suffix (as in the above example) or to join two roots. When connecting a root to suffix, the combining vowel is used only when the suffix starts with a consonant, such as in the word "hematology" above.
If the suffix starts with a vowel (a,e,i,o,u) the combining vowel is not needed. For example, in the word arthritis, we do not add the combining vowel to arthr because the suffix -itis starts with vowel.
As stated above, the combining vowel can also be used to join two roots. For example, in the word "osteoarthritis", the combining vowel joins the roots oste and arthr.
Common Anatomical Roots
-
Root
|
Meaning
|
axill/o
|
Armpit
|
bi/o
|
Life
|
cephal/o
|
Head
|
cervic/o
|
Neck
|
cyt/o
|
Cell
|
hist/o, histi/o
|
Tissue
|
lip/o, adip/o
|
Fat
|
path/o
|
Disease
|
viscer/o
|
Internal organs
|
Integumentary System
-
Root
|
Meaning
|
cilli/o
|
Hair
|
derm/o, dermat/o, cutane/o
|
Skin
|
onych/o, ungu/o
|
nail
|
Skeletal System
-
Root
|
Meaning
|
arth/o
|
Joint
|
chondr/o
|
Cartilage
|
oste/o
|
bone
|
Muscular System
-
Root
|
Meaning
|
my/o, muscul/o
|
Muscle
|
tend/o, tendin/o
|
tendon
|
Nervous System, Eyes, Ears
-
Root
|
Meaning
|
blephar/o
|
Eyelid
|
cerebr/o, encephal/o
|
Brain
|
myel/o
|
Spinal cord (bone marrow)
|
neur/o
|
Nerve
|
ophthalm/o, ocul/o
|
Eye
|
ot/o
|
ear
|
Endocrine System
-
Root
|
Meaning
|
aden/o
|
Gland
|
adren/o
|
Adrenal gland
|
pituitar/o
|
Pituitary gland
|
thyroid/o
|
Thyroid gland
|
Cardiovascular System and Blood
-
Root
|
Meaning
|
adenoid/o
|
Adenoids
|
angi/o, vascul/o, vas/o
|
Vessel
|
arteri/o
|
Artery
|
cardi/o
|
Heart
|
hem/o, hemat/o
|
Blood
|
ven/o, phleb/o
|
vein
|
Lymphatic and Immune Systems
-
Root
|
Meaning
|
adenoid/o
|
Adenoids
|
lumph/o
|
Clear fluid in lymphatic vessels
|
lymphaden/o
|
Lymph node
|
lymphangi/o
|
Lymph vessel
|
speln/o
|
Spleen
|
tonsil/o
|
tonsil
|
Respiratory System
-
Root
|
Meaning
|
bronch/o
|
Bronchus
|
laryng/o
|
Larynx, voice box
|
naso, rhin/o
|
Nose
|
pharyng/o
|
Pharynx, throat
|
phren/o
|
Diaphram
|
pneum/o, pneumon/o, pulmon/o
|
lung
|
throac/o
|
Chest
|
tarache/o
|
Trachea, windpipe
|
Digestive System
-
Root
|
Meaning
|
abdomin/o
|
Abdomen
|
an/o
|
Anus
|
cheil/o
|
Lips
|
col/o
|
Colon, large intestine
|
enter/o
|
Small intestine
|
esophag/o
|
Esophagus
|
gastr/o
|
Stomach
|
gloss/o, lingu/o
|
Tongue
|
hepat/o
|
Liver
|
or/o, stomat/o
|
Pharynx, throat
|
rect/o
|
rectum
|
Urinary System
-
Root
|
Meaning
|
cyst/o
|
Bladder
|
ren/o, nephr/o
|
Kidney
|
ureter/o
|
Ureters
|
urethr/o
|
urethra
|
Male Reproductive System
-
Root
|
Meaning
|
orchid/o, test/o
|
Testicle, testis
|
prostat/o
|
Prostate
|
vas/o
|
Ductus deferens, vas def
|
Female Reproductive System
-
Root
|
Meaning
|
colp/o, vagin/o
|
Vagina
|
gynec/o
|
Female
|
mast/o, mamm/o
|
Breast
|
oophor/o, ovari/o
|
Ovary
|
salping/o
|
Fallopian tueb, uterine tube
|
uter/o, hyster/o, metr/o
|
Uterus
|
vulv/o
|
Vulva, external genitalia
|
New Roots
Root
|
Meaning
|
acr/o
|
Top, extremities
|
all/o
|
Referring to another
|
electr/o
|
Electric
|
home/o
|
Same, constant
|
iatr/o
|
Physician
|
idi/o
|
Individual, distinct
|
radi/o
|
X-rays
|
tom/o
|
To cut
|
