Medical Terminology Basics

1. Medical TerminologyBasics

2. Health care workers need to know many medical terms in order to do their jobs well. Medical Terminology Knowledge

3. There are 4 categories of medical terms: • Constructed terms • Eponyms • Abbreviations • Acronyms TAKE THIS DOWN IN YOUR NOTES, PLEASE!

4. CONSTRUCTED TERMS Medical terms made up of several distinct parts.

5. EPONYMS Medical Terms named after the people who discovered a disease or scientific process. Example: “Pasteurization” is an Eponym named after the scientist Louis Pasteur.

6. ABBREVIATIONS Short versions of longer words. For example: Histo is the short version of the word: Histology , which means the “study of tissues”

7. ABBREVIATIONS Another example: Stat is the short version of the word: Statim, which is a Latin word that means “immediately”

8. ACRONYMS Words created from the first letter of each word found in a group of words. For example: “SOB” stands for: “Short Of Breath.”

9. What are the four major types of Medical Terms? • Constructed terms • Eponyms • Abbreviations • Acronyms

10. Constructed Terms The most prevalent type of medical terms

11. Constructed Terms are: Words made up of several parts. . .

12. . . .such as this common word: Biology

13. The first part is: The second part is: Bio- -logy Bio + logy = Biology

14. Bio- means: -logy means: Life, Living Things (the) Study of How would you define: “Biology” from its parts?

15. Biology is defined as: “The study of Life and Living things”

16. This means we are actually taking apart words, defining the meaning of the individual parts, and building a whole definition based on the meanings of the parts.

17. Word parts can include: • Prefixes • Word Roots • Suffixes • Combining Vowels

18. Comprehension Check- • What do we call medical terms that are built by connecting word parts/word elements? • Constructed Terms

19. Comprehension Check- • What word parts/word elements are typically used to build constructed terms? • Word Roots • Prefixes • Suffixes • Combining vowels

20. Let’s look at another constructed medical term, “Physiology”. Physi/o/logy = Physi = nature (word root) -logy = the study of (suffix) Defined as: The study of nature

21. Did you notice in the last word, physiology, that there is a vowel– “o”—that stands alone? • This is called the combining vowel.

22. What are the two word parts? Word root = Suffix = Physi -logy

23. What does each word part mean? Physi = -logy = Nature (the) study of

24. So, in the word physiology, how does the vowel— “o”– function? It isn’t part of the word root or the suffix. Remember: Physi: (word root) = “Nature” -logy: (suffix) = “the study of” What about the “o”? Why is the “o” even there?

25. The vowel– “o”– functions as a connector between the word root, Physi, and the suffix, -logy. • We need to add the vowel “o” because the suffix—logy, begins with a consonant letter, “L.”

26. Medical Terms that are constructed from parts • To review, medical terms that are constructed from parts may include: • Word Roots • Prefixes • Suffixes • One or more Combining Vowels (usually an “o” or an “i”

27. Word roots, prefixes, suffixes Let’s learn about each of these things separately. First: • Word Roots.

28. Word Root: the Foundation • The Word Root is the basic foundation of a constructed medical term • It usually tells about abody part/system

29. Example word root CARDI = HEART The meaning of “cardi” will never change!

30. Cardi = HEART But it isn’t a complete word. We need to add more parts to make it more meaningful. We must add a suffix (ending). . . and. . . …we might add a prefix, but not necessarily in every case.

31. Here is a common suffix -LOGY = The study/knowledge of

32. The suffix –logy can be added to many word roots, including: “Cardi” + . . .but something is still missing. . .

33. What is missing? Because the suffix (-logy) begins with a consonant letter- “L”- we need to put a combining vowel between the suffix “logy” and the word root “cardi”. The best combining vowel to use here is:

34. Pronounced: Car-dee-ah-la-gee

35. So, “cardiology” must mean: The study/knowledge of the heart

36. Is “logy” the onlysuffix that we can add onto the word root “cardi”? Of course not! There are quite a number of different suffixes that can be added to any word root, including “cardi.”

37. Do you think we need a combining vowel between “cardi” & “itis”? ? No combining vowel is needed because the suffix – “itis” already begins with a vowel, “i”.

38. So, we don’t add an “o” to combine “cardi” and “itis”, AND . . . We can combine the “i” of “cardi” and the “i” from “itis”. So, “Carditis.” which means: “inflammation of the heart.”

39. We’ve talked about: Word Roots Suffixes Combining Vowels Now let’s talk about PREFIXES

40. Prefix: a beginning • Always attaches to the BEGINNING of a word **IMPORTANT NOTE: The meaning of a prefix always remains the same.

41. Example: endo always means “within” no matter what it attaches to. Look at the words: endothelium, endocarditis, endotracheal, endoscope In all of these words,endo- always means “within”.

42. *****IMPORTANT NOTE***** Not all medical terms (words) have prefixes!

43. Prefixes are added to the beginning of some word roots to provide more specific meaning.

44. Let’s add the prefix “endo” to the word “carditis.”

45. Again we combine the “i” from “cardi” with the “i” from “itis”, and then add the prefix “endo,” giving us: “Endocarditis”

46. “Carditis” means “Inflammation of the Heart.” “Endocarditis” means “Inflammation within the heart.”

47. Comprehension Checker- • Prefixes are placed where? • Suffixes are placed where? • Combining vowels are used when? • at the beginning of words • at the end of word roots • when the suffix begins with a consonant letter

48. The End