1 Identifying Word Parts in Medical Terms
Welcome to Medical Terminology. Medical terminology is a language that is used in health care settings. Medical terms are built from Greek and Latin word parts and in addition include acronyms, such as “laser” (light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation), eponyms, such as West Nile Virus (named after a geographical location where the virus was identified) or Alzheimer disease (named after the person who discovered it) and modern-day language terms, such as “nuclear medicine scanner”, which is derived from the English language.
Learning Objectives
- Apply the rules of medical language to pronounce, break into word parts, and define terms
- Recognize the key word parts (prefixes, word roots, combining vowels, combining forms, and suffixes) of medical terms
- Differentiate categories of medical terms
Word Parts
Medical terms are built from four word parts. Those word parts are prefix, word root, suffix, and combining vowel. When a word root is combined with a combining vowel, the word part is referred to as a combining form.
Word Root
The word root contains the fundamental meaning of the word. It is the core part of the word. Each medical term contains at least one word root.
Examples
- In the word: play/er (play is the word root)
- In the medical term: arthr/itis (arthr – meaning “joint” – is the word root)
Prefixes
Prefixes are located at the beginning of a medical term. The prefix alters the meaning of the medical term. It is important to spell and pronounce prefixes correctly.
Examples
- In the word: re/play (“re” is the prefix)
- In the medical term: intra/ven/ous (“intra” is the prefix)
Many prefixes that you find in medical terms are common to English language prefixes. A good technique to help with memorization is the following:
- Start by reviewing the most common prefixes.
- Consider common English language words that begin with the same prefixes.
- Compare them to the examples of use in medical terms.
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Prefixes often indicate:
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Suffixes
Suffixes are word parts that are located at the end of words. Suffixes can alter the meaning of medical terms. In order to properly spell and pronounce medical terms, it is helpful to learn the suffixes.
Examples
- In the word: king/dom (“-dom” is the suffix)
- In the medical term: hepat/itis (“-itis” is the suffix)
When defining a medical term you often begin with the meaning of the suffix. For example: hepat/itis would be defined as “inflammation of the liver.”
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Suffixes often indicate:
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Combining Vowel
The combining vowel is a word part – most often an o – that helps pronunciation.
The combining vowel is placed to connect two word roots or to connect a word root and a suffix. Do NOT place a combining vowel to connect a prefix and a word root. Not all medical terms will have combining vowels.
| Guideline | Example |
|---|---|
| 1. When connecting a word root and a suffix, a combining vowel is used if the suffix DOES NOT begin with a vowel | arthr