Introduction to Medical Terminology

One of the effective strategies to learn medical terminology is to first learn the meaning of different word parts: prefixes, roots, and suffixes. As many of these word parts are derived from Latin or Greek, learning the meaning of these word parts will help you to recognize common medical words through word analysis.

Medical Terms and their Components

Prefix

found at the beginning of a medical word - added in front of a root to modify meaning, usually indication number, location, time or status.

E.g. hyper - (excessive)

Root

forms the basis of a medical word - gives the essential meaning of the word

E.g. glyc(o) (sugar)

Suffix

found at the end of a medical word - added after the root to modify meaning, usually indicating procedure, condition, disease, or disorder.

E.g. -emia (condition of the blood)

Medical Word

E.g. hyperglycemia

An efficient way to recognize the meaning of a complex medical term is therefore to break it down into these smaller parts. Let’s look at some examples. Can you build up the meaning of each of the following words from its components?

 (a) root + suffix 

carditis
cardi(o)
A root from the Greek word kardia, meaning heart
-
itis
A suffix meaning inflammation

 (b) prefix + root + suffix 

epigastric
epi
a prefix meaning above
-
gastr
a root from the Greek word gaster, meaning belly
-
ic
a suffix meaning pertaining to

 (c) The combining form 

physiotherapy
physi
a root from the Greek word physis, meaning nature
-
o
a combining vowel
-
therapy
a suffix meaning a treatment
A vowel (usually an ‘o’) is added to a medical root to enable it to be combined with a suffix starting with a consonant. This is to make the word easier to pronounce.

 (d) root + root + root + suffix 

otorhinolaryngology
ot
a root from the Greek word ot, meaning ear
-
o
-
rhin
a root from the Greek word rhinos, meaning nose
-
o
-
laryng
a root from the Greek word larynx, meaning voice-box
-
o
-
logy
a suffix meaning study

 (e) prefix + prefix + root + suffix 

electroencephalography
electro
a prefix meaning in nature
-
en
a prefix meaning in in
-
cephal
a root from the Greek word cephal, meaning head
-
o
-
graphy
a suffix meaning a to
The above information is extracted from:
Centre for Applied English Studies. (2022). SFEC3101 Dental/medical terminology workshop - [Class handout]. The University of Hong Kong.

Language Rules for Forming Medical Terms

  1. When combining two roots, the combining form vowel is added
    e.g. gastroenterology 🡪 (root) gastro + (root) entero + (suffix) -logy
  2. When the suffix begins with a consonant, the combining form vowel is added
    e.g. gastroenterology 🡪 (root) gastro + (root) entero + (suffix) -logy
  3. When the suffix begins with a vowel, the combining form vowel is not required
    e.g. intravenous 🡪 (prefix) intra + (root) ven(o) + (suffix) -ous
  4. A prefix goes at the beginning of a word and a combing form vowel is not required
    e.g. intravenous 🡪 (prefix) intra + (root) ven+ (suffix) -ous

Reference:
Carter, K., & Rutherford, M. (2020). Building a medical terminology foundation. eCampus Ontario.

Word Stress Rules

  1. Words ending in -y
    Stress is placed on the antepenultimate (third last) syllable
    e.g. ma’lignancy, gynae’cology
  2. Words ending with suffixes like -ic/ -itis/ -is
    Stress on the preceding sound
    e.g. Pedi’atric, antibi’otic *(exceptions: ‘politics, ‘rhetoric)
  3. Root of a word
    Prefixes are usually weak and stress is usually on the root of a word
    e.g. Dis’order, bi’lateral, dysˈphagia
  4. Secondary stress
    Secondary stress (,) is usually 2 syllables before the primary stress (‘) for longer words
    e.g. ˌleukoˈpenia.

* Please note that medical terms are often very long so the above stress rules may not always apply. Please always look up the IPA of medical terms in medical dictionaries.

The above information is extracted from:
Centre for Applied English Studies. (2022). SFEC3101 Dental/medical terminology workshop - [Class handout]. The University of Hong Kong.