Medical TerminologyChapter 1

• It’s own language• Made of terms that describe the human

body in detail• Shares lots of info with least amount of

words• One word can describe something that may

take several words• Usually come from Greek or Latin words

Medical Terminology

• The study of the origin and development of words

• -ology means the study of• Hint – you will see this again later

-ologist means a specialist in that field of study

Etymology

• Words named after people• Ex – Alzheimer’s• Named for Alois Alzheimer, a German neurologist

who lived from 1864 to 1915

Eponyms

• Terms that stand for longer phrases

• Airway• Breathing• Circulation

Acronyms

• Shortened forms of words• Used in many fields• Each facility has their own• Your responsibility to learn accepted terms

at the facility you are working in

• Appendix B in the textbook contains an alphabetized list of many of the more commonly used medical abbreviations

Abbreviations

• Word Roots• The main part of the word. The foundation.

• The basic form around which the final word is formed

• Gives you a clue as to what body part as they usually, but not always, describe the part of the body involved

Word Parts

Word roots cannot stand alone. A suffix must be added to complete the terms

• Word Roots continued• Most commonly has a combining “o”, sometimes

has a combining vowel “i” • Such as Cardi/o or Cardi(o) or

Word parts

• Combining Vowels• Not used if the suffix begins with a vowel

• Encephal(o) or Encephal/o• Encephalitis• -itis starts with a vowel so the “o” is not used

• Encephalogram• -gram starts with a consonant so the “o” is used

Word Parts

• A combining vowel is always used when 2 or more word roots are joined• Gastroenteritis• Gastr/o and enter/o or

• Combining form• What it is called when the word root is written

with a “/” then the combining vowel or the word root with the combining vowel in parenthesis

• The combination of a word root with the combining vowel• Cardi/o or Cardi(o)• Vs Cardiogram

Word Parts

• Prefixes• Appear at the beginnings of words

• Tell “how, why, where, when, how much, how many, position, direction, time or status”• Pre-, post-, peri-

• Give us a clue of what to expect in a word’s meaning

• Serve to further define the word root

Word Parts

• Suffixes• Appear at the ends of words

• Tell us what is happening with a specific body part or system

• Give info on what is wrong or the procedure being performed• -itis, -ectomy

Word Parts

• Your goal is to learn the tools of word analysis

• This will make understanding the complex terminology easier

• Learning to divide words into their basic parts will help you to interpret them

Analysis

• If you don’t know the word to figure it out work backwards. Start with the suffix

• Drop the combining vowel (usually o) before a suffix that begins with a vowel• Ex – gastric not gastroic

• Retain the combining vowel between two roots in a word

Rules to Remember

• Many words are pronounced alike but spelled differently and have entirely different meaning• Ileum-part of the small intestine• Ilium-part of the pelvic, or hip, bone

• So in this class spelling will count!!

Spelling is Essential

• Words spelled correctly but pronounced incorrectly may be misunderstood• Urethra• Ureter

Pronunciation is Also Important