Medical Prefixes
Word Roots
Medical Suffixes
Illness Related
Anatomy and Organization of the Body
100
A prefix for "bad, difficult, or painful."
What does "dys-" mean?
100
It means "a child". . . or " a foot".
What does "ped/o" mean?
100
Both describe pain.
What do "-algia" and "-dynia" mean?
100
Clinical heart pain; not a broken heart
What is cardiodynia?
100
One could also say: anterior and posterior.
What are terms that mean the same thing as ventral and dorsal?
200
High and low (or above, below)
What do "hyper-" and "hypo-" mean?
200
A word root, followed by a vowel, usually an "o" or "i".
What is a combining form?
200
An incision and an instrument for making incisions.
What are "-tomy" and "-tome"?
200
You would tell the nurse these objective and subjective indicators of your illness.
What are signs and symptoms?
200
One means toward the mid-line, one away from the mid-line.
What is the difference between medial and lateral?
300
Two prefixes that sound alike, but one means "before" and the other "against."
What are "ante-" and "anti-"?
300
They sound somewhat similar, but one means "joint" and the other "fatty."
What is the difference between "arthr/o" and "ather/o"?
300
Don't confuse these two: one means "abnormal formation" and one means "paralysis".
What do "-plasia" and "-plegia" mean?
300
The word part that (among other things) indicates a medical condition, diagnostic terms, test information, or surgical procedures.
What is a suffix?
300
Of the 9 regions of the abdomen, the hypogastric region is located here.
Which abdominopelvic cavity is located below the umbilical region and between the right and left inguinal regions?
400
One, two, three, four
What do mono- (or uni-), bi- (or di-), tri-, and quadri- (or tetra-) mean?
400
"An apple a day, keeps the ______ away."
What is "iatr/o"? (doctor/physician)
400
A suffix that indicates a condition. (It also converts a verb to a noun.)
What is "-iasis"?
400
They sound somewhat similar, but one is the surgical procedure of cutting a bone, and one means the surgical removal of bone.
What are an osteotomy and an ostectomy?
400
The three body planes used to locate anatomical structures or for diagnostic testing.
What are frontal, sagittal, and transverse planes?
500
They are both prefixes for abnormal rates of speed.
What do "tachy-" and "brady-" have in common? (fast and slow)
500
The language used in medical terminology for word roots to describe diseases, conditions, treatments, and diagnoses.
What is Greek?
500
-ac, -al, - an, -aneous, -ar, -ary, -eous, -iac, -ic, -ical, -eal, -ous
What are suffixes that convert a word root or noun to an adjective?
500
Both regard the wall of the heart: one is a rupturing, the second is suturing.
What are "cardiorrhexis" and "cardiorrhaphy"?
500
"Back" to the basics - the five spinal divisions.
What are: cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacrum, and coccyx?
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