Introduction to Medical Terminology, Exercises of Medical Sciences

Download Introduction to Medical Terminology and more Exercises Medical Sciences in PDF only on Docsity! Medical Terminology Section I – Introduction to Terminology Learning medical terminology will help the student to understand and translate documentation found in a patient’s chart, information in journal, research articles and other written materials. Medical word origins are usually from the Greek and Latin languages. It is not necessary to study these languages. One can determine the literal meaning of an unfamiliar term by knowing the meaning of the word parts. As the student studies the different elements of medical words, it will be evident that after a few word parts are learned, these parts will be useful in understanding other medical words. This system is called word building. Since it is not practical to walk around with a medical dictionary, this system will help the student to learn words that are related to diagnosis and conditions, procedures and tests. To analyze medical words, we need to understand 4 elements that are used to form the words. These elements are: - Word root - Combining form - Suffix - Prefix To better understand the formation of the words, identifying marks will be used to separate the different elements. - Slash (/) – to separate work elements; gastr/o - Hyphen (-) – in front of a suffix; -al - Hyphen (-) – after a prefix; pre- Remember that correct spelling is a must. If a word is misspelled, the meaning may change. Ileum and ilium are pronounced the same, but have different meanings: - Ileum – distal portion of the small intestines - Ilium – the lateral, flaring part of the hip bone Word Root The word root is the main part or foundation of a word. All words have word roots. - employer, employee – employ - dresser – dress In medical terminology, the root may indicate a body part or body system or colors. - cardial – heart - pancreatitis – pancreas - cyanosis – blue A medical word may be simply be a root or it may be a combination of word elements. - sclera – white of the eye - electr/o/cardi/o/gram – 2 roots and a suffix Combining Form Many words would be difficult to pronounce if written without a vowel to join the word roots. When you take a word root and add a vowel it becomes a combining form. This vowel is usually an ―o‖, and it is called a combining vowel. - cyst/o - therm/o The combining vowel is used before suffixes that begin with a consonant and before another word root. Prefixes are not included in this rule. Suffixes A suffix is added to the end of a word root or combining form to modify the meaning. Suffixes are joined to combining forms to write nouns, adjectives, and verbs. The suffix may indicate a procedure, conditions, disorder, or a disease. The combining vowel may be used to link word roots to the suffix that begins with a consonant. - sclera/osis - arthr/oscopy The combining vowel is not used t o link word roots with a suffix if it begins with a vowel. - arthr/it is - gastr/ectomy Changing the suffix, changes the meaning of the word. - dent/al – ―al‖ means pertaining to - dent/ist – ―ist‖ means specialist Common suffixes: - Meaning ―pertaining to‖: -al -ary -ar -ial -ic -ous - Meaning ―abnormal condition‖: -ago -ia -osis -ism - Other common suffixes: -itis – inflammation -scope – instrument to view or examine -ectomy – excision, removal -pathy – disease -ist – specialist -ology – study of -plasty – surgical repair -ostomy – surgically creating an opening -otomy – incision into -phobia – irrational fear -paresis – weakness -plegia – paralysis -rrhea – discharge, flow -tome – instrument to cut Worksheet - Section I 1. Name the 4 word elements that form a medical word. 2. The combining vowel in a combining form is usually _______. 3. The word element that follows a word root and changes the meaning is a _________. 4. The word element that is located at the beginning or a word is a ________. 5. Change the following singular words into plural words. Bacterium Bronchus Deformity Apex Ganglion Carcinoma Pleura 6. Define the following suffixes: -al -ist -osis -ectomy -itis -cele -esthesia -gram -pepsia -plasty 7. Define the following prefixes: a- ab- ante- brady- tachy- cyan- bi- tri- cryo- dys- 8. Define the following medical vocabulary. Anoxia – Apnea Bradycardia Diaphoresis Dyspnea Hypertension Hypotension Korotkoff’s sounds Orthopnea Pulse Tachycardia Vital signs