Anatomical points, prefix, suffix, root of medical terminology

Anatomical Position and Plane

To understand different medical
terminology of the body, students have to know some basic information about
anatomical position, the planes of the body.

Anatomical position is a
standard point of reference commonly used in human anatomy and physiology when
describing certain anatomical terms and positions.

Anatomical Points are:

•
The erect position
of the body with the face directed forward

•
the feet together

•
the arms at the
side, and

•
the palms of the
hands facing forward

Terminology of Anatomical Planes and position

A
plane is a 2D slice, through a 3D organ. The anatomical planes are different
lines used to divide the human body. You will commonly see them when looking at
anatomical models and prosected body parts. Using anatomical planes allows for
accurate description of a location, and also allows the reader to understand
what a diagram or picture is trying to show.

There
are three planes commonly used; sagittal(sa·juh·tl), coronal(kor-nl)and transverse.

Sagittalplane is
a vertical line which divides the body into a left section and a right section.

Para-sagittal plane
is any plane parallel or adjacent to a given sagittal plane.

e.g.
The mid-clavicular line crosses through the midpoint of the clavicle, lateral
sternal and parasternal planes. Fig: 1.2

Coronal planeis
a vertical line which divides the body into a front (anterior) section
and a back (posterior) section.

Posterior
(pow·stee·ree·ur) /dorsal means toward the
back of the body,

Anterior
(an·tee·ree·ur)/ ventralmeans toward
the front of the body. Fig: 1.3

The
transverse plane is a horizontal plane which divides the body into an
upper /superior section and a lower/inferior section.

Superior
(soo·pee·ree·ur) meansabove; the part that is
above the another part; close to the head.

Inferior
(uhn·fee·ree·ur) meansbelow;
part that is below another part; toward the feet.

What is the meaning of Median
/ Medial /Lateral?

Median (mee·dee·uhn) / midline means an
imaginary vertical line down to the middle of the body.

Medial (mee·dee·uhl) means any point toward the
median plane or near to the median plane.

Lateral (la·tr·uhl) meansany
point toward the side of the body or away from the median plane.

Basic Structure of Terminology

Medical terms are comprised of three standard word parts: prefix, root & suffix.

Prefix

They are a letter or group of letters added to the beginning of a word to make a new word and usually indicates a location, direction, type, quality, or quantity etc.

Root

It gives a term its essential meaning. Nearly all medical terms contain at least one root. When a prefix is absent, the term begins with a root.

Suffix

It appears at the end of a term and may indicate a specialty, test, procedure, function, disorder, or status. Otherwise, it may simply define whether the word is a noun, verb, or adjective. Fig 1.8

Combining vowel

A combined vowel (usually the letter “o”) may be added between word parts to aid in pronunciation.

Breaking a word down into its component parts should help readers determine the meaning of an unfamiliar term.

A medical term can consist of almost any combination of following word parts:

1. Prefix + root word + suffix

hyperthyroidism: prefix: hyper, Root:thyroid, Suffix: ism Fig 1.9

2. Root word + suffix: Gastritis : root word: gastr, Suffix: itis

3. Root word + root word + suffix

gastroenteritis : root word : gastr/o, Root word : enter, Suffix: itis.

4. Root word+ root word + root word

Sternocleidomastoid : Root word: stern/o, Root word: cleid/o, Root word: mastoid.

5. Prefix + suffix:hypoxia : Prefix: hypo, Suffix: oxia.

Medical Prefix

They 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. Many prefixes that you
find in medical terms are common to English language prefixes.

Example, oliguria, oligo (prefix) means small, uria
(urine) Fig 1.10

Why
should you learn medical prefix?

You can easily understand the meaning of
medical terms.

Help to pronounce medical terms
correctly.

Study
tips:

•
Learn the common prefixes according to
categories e.g. prefix of time, prefix of number etc.

•
Learn sound-alikeprefix/
twin prefix because it creates confusion e.g. Anti (against)
&Ante (before)

•
Try to memorized the
prefixes which have similar meaning e.g. ‘bi’ and ‘di’ means two

Try to identify prefix, when you find a new
medical term e.g. triceps

Medical Prefix: Amount and Size

Prefix	Meaning	Example
Oligo	Small	Oliguria
Ipsi	Same side	Ipsilateral
Contra	Opposite side	Contralateral
Equi	Equal	Equivocal
Iso	Equal	isocellular
Eu	Normal	Euchromatin
Normo	Normal	Normotension
Hyper	High	Hypertension
Hypo	Low	Hypotension
Macro/Mega/ Megalo	Large or great	Megakaryocyte

•

Medical Prefix:Number

Medical prefix	Meaning	Example
Mono	One, single	Monocyte
Uni	one	Unicellular
Bi/di	Two	Biceps brachii
Ambi	Both	Ambiguous
Tri	three	Triceps brachii
Tetra	Four	Tetracycline
Penta	Five	Pentose
Hexa	Six	Hexose
Hepta	Seven	Heptane
Octo	Eight	Octane
Quadri	Four	Quadriplegia
Centi	one hundred	Centigrade
Poly	many	Polycystic ovary
Pan	all	Pancytopenia
Multi	many	Multicellular
Primi	First	Primigravida
Semi	Half	Semitendinosus
Hemi	Half (one side)	Hemisection

Medical Prefix:Position

Prefix	Meaning	Example
Epi	Above upon	Epimysium
Supra	Above, somepoints	Supracondylar
Super	Above, external, upper most	Superficial
Sub	Below	Subcutaneous
Infra	Below some points	Infraspinatus
Dextro	Right	Dextrocardiac
Levo	Left	Levorotation
Ex, ec(t)	Out of , outside	Ectoderm
End(o)	Within , Inside	Endoderm
Trans	Across	Trans membranous
Ab	Away from	Abduction
Ad	Toward	Adduction
Dia	Through, completely	Diapedeses
Spondyle	Spine	Spondylitis
Ortho	Straight	Orthopedic

Medical Prefix:
Time

Prefix	Meaning	Example
Ante	before	Antepartum
Pro	Before	Prophylaxis
Pre	Before	Preoperative
Post	After	Postoperative
Re	Again	Recurrent
recto	Back	Rectoperitoneal
Neo	New	Neocortex
Chrono	Time	Chronological

Medical Prefix: Colour

Prefix	Meaning	Term
chromo	Colour	Chromatin
leuc(o), leuk(o)	White	Leukomyelitis
albo	White	albinism
cyno	Blue	Cynosis
erythro	Red	Erythrocyte
glauc(o)	grey	glaucoma
polio	grey	Poliomyelitis
melan(o)	Black	melanin
cirrh(o)	Yellow	Cirrhosis
xantho	Yellow	Xanthochromia
chlor(o)	Green	chloroma

Prefix: Sound-alike prefix / Twin Prefix

Twin term
with meaning

Examples

Intra (within) &

Inter (in between)

Intrapulmonary

interlobular

Micro (small )

macro (large)

Microscopic

macroscopic

Hypo (low)

hyper (more)

Hypotension

hypertension

Anti (against)

Ante (before)

Antidiuretic

Antepartum

Ecto,

Meso

Endo

Ectoderm

mesoderm

endoderm

Int

External

internal

Epi (above)

Peri (around)

Para(side)

Epimysium

Perimysium

Parafollicular

Super-,
above

Supra-
beyond

Superciliary

supraorbital

Sym,
(Joined)

Syn ,
together

Symphysis

Syndactyl

Ile(o)

Ilio

Ileum
(terminal part of small intestine )

Ilium
(part of hip bone)

My(o)
muscle

Myel(o)
marrow

Myocyte

Myelocyte

Or(al)
mouth

Aur(al)
ear

Oropharyngeal

Auralgia

Dis(not or
non)

Dys (Bad,
difficult )

Disconnect

Dysmorphogenesis

Cyto
(cell)

Cysto(bladder)

Cytoplasm

Cystoscope

ambi (both
)

amphi
(around, both side)

Ambiguous

Amphicentric

cephal/o

cerebr/o

cerebell/o

Head

Cerebrum

Cerebellum

Prefix: Miscellaneous

Prefix

Meaning

Example

A/An

No, not , Without

Anatomy anemia

Non

Not

Non keratinized

Anti/ Contra

Against

Anti-coagulant

Auto

Self

Autonomic

Brady

slow

Bradycardia

Tachy

Fast

Tachycardia

Removal of

Decapitation

Edem

Swelling

Edema

Electro

Electricity

Electrocardiogram

Etio

Cause

Etiology

Cryo

Cold

Cryosurgery

Con

Joining
together

Concentric

Lith

Stone

Lithotomy

Mal

Bad

Malnutrition

Gon/gono

Sexual /reproduction

Gonorrhea

Crypto

Hidden

Cryptocrystalline

Word Root in Medical Terminology

A word
root is the foundational element of any medical term. Roots often indicate a
body part or system which usually has been derived from a Greek or Latin noun
or verb.This root expresses the basic meaning of the term. However, often that
meaning will be modified by the addition of a prefix (at the beginning of the
word) or the addition of a suffix (at the end of the word).

For example, Carditis
: root word-card(o), suffix-
itis

Hypogastric: prefix-hypo, root word-gastric

Hyperthyroidism: prefix-hyper, Root
word-thyroid, Suffix-ism

Gastroenterology: root word-gastr/o, Root
word-enter/o, Suffix-logy

Lists of root words are given in the
terminology of the systemic anatomy chapter and some are given in a combined
form word list.

Combining forms in Medical Terminology

A combined form of word root means a word
root is connected with a combined vowel (usually O, sometimes i , a ) .

A combined vowel is used when a root is
followed by another word part that begins with a consonant.

A combined vowel (usually the letter ‘o’) is
added after the root (e.g. neur-o-logy) to aid pronunciation.

The root and vowel together (e.g. neur-o) are
called the combined form. Some word roots are added by a or I and in some cases
a single word root makes combined words with more than one vowel. For example,
dent/o or dent/i

Why should you learn combined root words?

You can easily understand any medical term.

You can reduce spelling mistakes.

Study tips

1. Try to learn main combined root word, when
you start a new subject/ a chapter.

2. Try to learn combined root words that follow the
double rules or exceptional rules to avoid spelling mistakes

Combed forms root words add by letter ‘o’

Root word	Combined form	Compound word Example
Abdomen	Abdomin/o	Abdominocentesis
Alveoli	Alveol/o	Alveoloclasia
Amnion	Amni/o	Amniocentesis
Aniso	Anis/o	Anisocytosis
Bio	Bi/o	Biology
Cecum	Cec/o	Cecoileostomy
Cephal	Cephal/o	Cephalocele
Cerebr	Cerebr/o	Cerebrocele
Cerebell	Cerebell/o	Cerebellospinal
Cost	Cost/o	Costochondral
Ot	Ot/o	Otosclerosis
Dent	Dent/o	Dentoalveolar

Combining forms root word add by letter‘I’,or‘a’

Root word	Combining term	Example
Noct	Noct(i)	noctilucent
Burs	Burs/i	Bursitis
Calc	Calc/i	Calcium
Capn	Capn/i	Hypercapnia
Centr	Centr/i	Centrilobular
Dent	Dent/i	Denticle
Ped	Ped/i	Pediatric

Some combining form root word follows double rules

Double
rules

Example

Bronch/o

Bronch/i

Bronchopulmonary

Bronchitis

Cardi/o

Card/i

Cardiopulmonary

Carditis

Chron/o

Chron/i

Chronometer

Chronic

Crani/o

Carn/i

Craniostomy

Cranial

Cyst/o

Cyst/i

Cystostomy

Cystitis

Dermat/o

Dermat/i

Dermatology

Dermatitis

Dors/i

Dors/o

Dorsiflexion

Dorsolateral

Enter/o

Enter/i

enterovirus,

enteritis

Some exceptional rules of Medical word and
Suffix combination

1. ‘X’ of root word replace by ‘g’.e.g.Pharynx-pharyngeal, coccyx-coccygeal

2. ‘X’ of root word replace by ‘c’. e.g. Thorax-
thoracotomy, thoracic

3. Combined root wordand suffix are connected by ‘r’. e.g. Menorrhea:men/o+r+rhea. Men/o means (menses) and rheameans
(flow, discharge), hemorrhage= hemo+r+rhage

4. absence of combined vowel in root word e.g.
mastectomy = mast+ ectomy, mastitis :mast+itis

5. Pelvis vs pelvic:

· pelvis means the lower part of the trunk,
between the abdomen and the thighs

· Pelvic means relating to or situated within
the bony pelvis

e.g. thymus / thymic, necrosis / necrotic,
neurosis / neurotic

Medical
Suffix

Medical suffixes are word parts that are located at the
end of words. They can alter the meaning of medical terms.

Medical terms always end with a suffix. The suffix
usually indicates a specialty, test, procedure, function, condition/disorder,
or status. For example, “itis” means inflammation and “ectomy” means removal.

Why should you learn medical suffix ?

You
can easily understand the meaning of medical terms.

You
can avoid spelling mistakes.

Study tips:

•
Learn the common
suffix according to categories e.g. the suffix ofprocedure, the suffix of disorderetc.

•
Be careful about suffixes ‘ed’ and ‘ing’ which are connected
with root words by double letters.

•
Learn suffix ‘pertaining to’.

Medical suffix: procedure and
test

Suffix	Meaning	Example
-ectomy	Removal	mastectomy breast
-centesis	Tap, puncture	thoracentesis
-tome	Instrument using cutting	Microtome
-tomy	Incision, to cut into	tracheotomy
-stomy	Mouth, forming an opening	colostomy
-lysis	Destroying	Hemolysis
-tripsy	Surgical crushing	Lithotripsy
-plasty	Surgical repair	Mammoplasty
-rrhaphy	Suture	Angiorrhaphy
-gram	To record	Echocardiogram
-graph(y)	Recording instrument	Ultrasonography
-scopy	Visual examination	Ophthalmoscopy
-opsy	Examine	Biopsy, autopsy

Suffix: related with condition, disorder, disease Fig 1.18

Suffix	Meaning	Example
-pnea	breathing	Apnea
-osis	condition or disease	Tuberculosis
-penia	deficiency	Leucopenia
-rrhag(ea/ia)	excessive flow	Diarrhea
-genic	causing	Epigenic
-algia,	pain	Arthralgia
-edema	swelling	Angioedema
-emesis	vomiting.	Hyperemesis
-megaly	enlargement	Cardiomegaly
-eum, -ium	membrane	myocardium /peritoneum
-oid	resembling	Mucoid
-phobia	abnormal fear	Claustrophobia
-rrhage	excessive bleeding	Hemorrhage
-rrhagia	excessive flow.	Menorrhagia
-spasm	cramp, twitching	Vasospasm
-ase	enzyme	lipase, amylase
-iac	one who suffers	Hemophiliac
-opia	vision	hyperopia
-y	state or condition	Atrophy
-Ism	state of being	Alcoholism dwarfism
-emia	blood	Anemia
-phobia	fear	Hydrophobia
-dactyl	finger, toe	Polydactyle
-lepsy	Seizure	Epilepsy
-itis	inflammation	Hepatitis

Suffix : miscellaneous

Suffix	Meaning	Example
-logy	study of	Physiology, pathology
-ist -ian,	specialist	Psychiatrist / Pediatrician
-iatry,	specialty	Psychiatry
-ase	enzyme	lipase, amylase
-ule	Small	Venule
-therapy	Treatment	Chemotherapy
-sclerosis	Hardening	Multiple sclerosis
-tension	Pressure	Hypertension

Suffix: pertaining to
(related to)

Suffix	Example
-ac	Cardiac
-al	Dental
-ar	Tonsillar
-ary	Pulmonary
-ia	Bradycardia
-ic	Gastric
-ical	Chemical
-ium	Cardium
-ous	Mucous
-tic	Pancreatic
-us	Hydrocephalus
-form	Muciform
-ile	Febrile
-ory	Respiratory

To avoid spelling
mistakes, be careful about the ‘ing’ suffix with double letterswords

Main word	Combine word by ‘ing’
Cut	Cutting
Omit	Omitting
Counsel	Counseling
Stop	Stopping
Spell	Spelling
Cancel	Cancelling
Control	Controlling
Knot	Knotting
Nod	Nodding
wrap	Wrapping
Submit	Submitting
Rot	Rotting
refer	Referring
plan	Planning
Permit	Permitting
Occur	Occurring

To
avoid spelling mistakes, be careful about the ‘ed’ suffix with double letters
words

Main word	Combined word with ‘ed’
Admit	Admitted
Allot	Allotted
Ban	Banned (Pronunciation-band)
Cancel	Cancelled
Control	Controlled
job	Jobbed
knot	knotted
Nod	Nodded
Occur	Occurred
Omit	Omitted
Plan	Planned
Permit	Permitted
Prefer	Preferred
refer	Referred
Rot	Rotted
rub	Rubbed
snap	Snapped
spell	Spelled
Stop	Stopped
Submit	Submitted
Transfer	Transferred
Wrap	Wrapped

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