Medical Prefixes
This prefix means "liver"
Answer: What is hepat/o?
The suffix "-ectomy" means this
Answer: What is surgical removal (of an organ or tissue)?
A patient needs their tonsils removed due to chronic tonsillitis. The suffix "-itis" tells you this about their condition
Answer: What is inflammation (they have inflamed tonsils)?
A patient's wound is described as "superficial." This means it affects
Answer: What is the skin or surface layers (superficial = toward the surface)?
The heart and lungs are in this cavity
Answer: What is the thoracic cavity?
This prefix refers to the kidney
Answer: What is Nephro or Reno?
A patient with "hematuria" would have this substance in their urine
Answer: What is blood
A "mastectomy" removes breast tissue. If the procedure were a "mammoplasty" instead, this would be done
Answer: What is surgical repair or reconstruction of the breast (-plasty = surgical repair)?
A fracture is described as "distal to the knee but proximal to the ankle." It must be located in this bone
Answer: What is the tibia or fibula (lower leg bones)?
"Stratified squamous epithelium" has multiple layers of flat cells. Name the body location where you'd find this tissue type providing protection
What is the skin/epidermis (or mouth, esophagus - accept any correct answer)?
This prefix means "gallbladder"
Answer: What is cholecyst-?
If someone has "gastroenteropathy," the disease is affecting these organ(s) are:
Answer: What is the stomach AND intestines
This procedure is to remove part of the intestines
Answer: What is enterectomy?
If the liver is inferior to the lungs, and the diaphragm separates them, the diaphragm is in this position relative to the liver
Answer: What is superior (above the liver)?
Dense regular connective tissue forms
What is tendons and ligaments.
"Chondro-" refers to this
What is cartilage?
A "chondrocyte" is a mature cell found in this type of tissue
Answer: What is cartilage (chondro = cartilage, -cyte = cell)?
A patient undergoes "arthroscopy" of the knee. Based on the suffix, explain what the doctor is doing
Answer: What is visual examination of the joint (-scopy = visual examination, arthro = joint)?
During surgery, the doctor must go through these layers in order to reach the liver: skin, then muscles. Describe the liver's position relative to both
Answer: What is deep to the skin and deep to the muscles (or: the skin and muscles are superficial to the liver)?
The pelvic cavity contains the bladder and reproductive organs. The abdominal cavity is in this position relative to the pelvic cavity
Answer: What is superior (above the pelvic cavity)?
This prefix refers to the heart muscle
Myocardi/a
"Leukocytes" and "erythrocytes" are both types of these.
Answer: What are blood cells (white blood cells and red blood cells)?
What procedure would create an opening into the kidney?
Answer: What is nephrotomy (-otomy= creation of an opening)?
Question: The doctor notes that the tumor is "posterior to the ribs but anterior to the vertebral column." Name organ in between
Answer: Lung
Blood is classified as connective tissue with a liquid matrix called plasma. Name the type of bone marrow that produces blood cells
Answer: What is red bone marrow?