Introduction to Veterinary Medical Terminology

1. Introduction to Veterinary Medical Terminology Building Blocks of Words

2. It’s all Greek to me! Some may say that veterinarians speak Greek, they are right! Most terms used in veterinary medicine are based on Latin or Greek. Latin is the universal language of medicine and the Greeks were the founders of modern medicine. The following will be some common examples, be sure to record these terms on your worksheet.

3. Latin (Scientific) Adjectives:

4. The Building Blocks Suffix Root Prefix Combining Form

5. Word Structure • Root Word • Prefix • Suffix • Combining Vowel • Compound Word The key to learning terminology is to break down each word into parts and learn the most common roots, prefixes, suffixes, and combing forms.

6. Root Word • Definition - the foundation of the word • Gives substance to the meaning. • Like a box car in a train, they give the train volume and substance. • They come in a variety of different sizes and volumes. • There can be more than one in a word. Suffix Root Prefix Combining Form

7. Root Word Examples - 1 Cardi/o – Heart Cephalo/o – Head Dent/o – Tooth, Teeth Mamm/a, Mamm/o – Mammary Gland Nas/o – Nose, Nasal

8. Root Word Examples - 2 Ophthalm/o – Eye Ot/o – Ear Steth/o – Chest Thorac/o – Thorax Trache/o - Trachea

9. Root Word Examples - 3 Abdomin/o – Abdomen Copr/o – Feces Cyan/o – Blue Derm/o, Dermat/o – Skin Enter/o – Intestines

10. Root Word Examples - 4 Erythr/o – Red Blood Cell Gingiv/o – Gums Hepat/o – Liver Hydr/o – Water Peritone/o – Peritoneum Membrane

11. Word Structure • Root Word • Prefix • Suffix • Combining Vowel • Compound Word

12. Prefix • Word that precedes/BEFORE the root, modifying the roots meaning to form a new word. • Alone they have some meaning, but they are not complete words without the rest of the word parts. • They are like the train’s engine with its whistle. • Leads the train and announces the coming train. • Without the box cars, together with the engine there is not a complete train.

13. Prefix Examples - 1 A-, an- Not, Without Anti- Opposing, Against Brady- Slow De- Away from Dys- Difficult

14. Prefix Examples - 2 Hyper- High, Above, Beyond Hypo- Low, Below, Behind Mal- Bad, Poor Poly- Many

15. Prefix Examples - 3 Ep-, Epi- On, Upon Eu- Normal Iso- Equal, Same Multi- Many, Much Neo- New

16. Prefix Examples - 4 Pan- All Peri- Around Post- After Pyo- Pus Uni- Single Celled

17. Prefix • Example: Prefix + Root WordNew word brady + cardi/abradycardia “slow” “heart” slow heart (rate)

18. Exercise on Prefixes • a-, an- (without or not having) • anti - (against) • brady- (slow) • contra- (against, opposed) • de- (remove, take away, loss of) • dys- (difficult, troubled) • pyo - (pus) • hyper- (high) • ________ biotic (against life) • ________ thermia (high temperature) • ________ horn (remove the horn)

19. Word Structure • Root Word • Prefix • Suffix • Combining Vowel • Compound Word

20. Suffix • Written AFTER a root word to form a NEW word. • Follows root word altering the words meaning. • Determines if word is a noun, adjective or other type of word. Like a caboose, it is always last.

21. Suffix Examples - 1 -ectomy – Removal of -emia – Blood condition -pnea – Breathing -iasis – Infestation or infection -itis – Inflammation

22. Suffix Examples - 2 -ism – State or condition -logy – Study of -oma – Tumor -penia – Deficiency of -scope – Instrument for exam -tomy – Cutting, Incision

23. Suffix Examples - 3 -al –ic, -ac, -ous– Pertaining to -graphy – Recording of -lysis- Destruction of -megaly– Abnormally Large -natal– Birth

24. Suffix Examples - 4 -osis – Abnormal condition -spasm– Involuntary Contraction

25. Word Structure: Suffix • Example: Root Word + SuffixNew word Tonsil + -itisTonsilitis -itis = inflammation of Inflammation of the tonsils

26. Exercise on Suffixes • Hyper- adrenocortic -________ (state…) (Adrenal cortex) • Acar/i -________ (tick/mite infestation) • Gastr/i-________(inflammation of the stomach lining)

27. Word Structure • Root Word • Prefix • Suffix • Combining Vowel • Compound Word

28. Word Structure: Combining Vowel • Vowel commonly used: “o” • General Rule 1: If the suffix starts with a consonant, connect the rootword and the suffix with the vowel “o”. • Example 1: Root Word + CV Suffix New word Cardi + -o- -logy Cardiology “Heart” study of Study of the heart

29. Word Structure: Combining Vowel • Vowel commonly used: “o” • General Rule 2: If the suffix starts with a vowel (a,e,i,o,u) DO NOT USE the vowel “o”. Just attach the suffix to the root word. • Example 2: Root Word + SuffixNew word Hepat/o -osisHepatosis liver -disease process - disease process in the liver

30. Word Structure: Combining Vowel • Vowel commonly used: “o” • General Rule 3: If the suffix begins with the same vowel as the root word, DO NOT repeat the vowel. • Example 3: Root Word + SuffixNew word Cardi -itisCarditis heart -inflammation of - inflammation of the heart

31. Word Structure • Root Word • Prefix • Suffix • Combining Vowel • Compound Word

32. Word Structure: Compound Word • Rootword 1 + CV + Rootword 2 + Suffix New word Heart + worm Heartworm Medi + “o” + later + -al Mediolateral Crani + “o” + caud/al + -al Craniocaudal Dors + “o” + palm +-arDorsopalmar

33. Review: Word Structure • What is a Root Word? • Where can you find a prefix in a word? • Where can you find a suffix in a word? • What is the most commonly used vowel? a. If first letter of suffix = consonant? b. If first letter of suffix is = vowel? c. If first letter of suffix = last letter of RW? • Create a compound word.

34. Create a Word Activity • For each group there are three “dice.” • Prefix • Rootword • Suffix • Each person is to take three rolls of each dice to create three words. • Write out the correct notation, including combining vowels/words and its meaning.