Word Parts and Structural Terms
Combining Forms
immun/o: immune, immunity
lymph/o: lymph, lymph tissue
lymphaden/o: lymph gland, lymph node
myel/o: bone marrow, spinal cord
splen/o: spleen
thym/o: thymus gland
Prefixes
a-: no, not, negates meaning
an-: no, not, negates meaning
Suffixes
-cyte: cell
-ectomy: excision, cut out
-itis: inflammation
-logist: specialist, physician who studies and treats
-logy: study of
-megaly: enlarged, enlargement
-oid: resembling
-oma: tumor, swelling
-osis: abnormal condition
-pathy: disease
-rrhaphy: suturing
Structural/Complementary Terms Built from Word Parts
lymphoid: relating to the lymphatic tissue
lymphocyte: immune cell commonly found in the lymphatic system; responsible for adaptive and long-term immunity
Structural/Complementary Terms Not Built from Word Parts
antibody: proteins produced by B lymphocytes in response to a non-self antigen; also called immunoglobulins
antigen: a substance that provokes an immune response
immune: possessing immunity to a pathogen
immunity: after an infection, memory cells remain in the body for a long time and can very quickly mount an immune response against the same pathogen if it tries to re-infect
immunization: the process of inducing immunity artificially with weakened or killed pathogens, antigens from the pathogen, or mRNA coding for a protein from a pathogen
vaccine: an agent administered by injection, orally, or by nasal spray that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious disease