The Components of Medical Terminology | Medical Terminology for Cancer

Medical Terminology for Cancer

4: The Components of Medical Terminology

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Components of Medical Words

Root Words

Suffixes

Prefixes

Components of Medical Words

Most medical terms are compound words made up of root words which are combined with prefixes (at the start of a word) and suffixes (at the end of a word). Thus medical terms that may at first seem very complex can be broken down into their component parts to give you a basic idea of their meaning. For example the word neuroblastoma

: neuro- means nerve; blast- relates to immature cells; -oma means tumour.

Therefore by breaking down a complex word we can see that neuroblastoma literally means a tumour made up of immature nerve cells.

To take another type of tumour: osteogenic sarcoma

: osteo- means bone; -genic means creating / causing

Thus we can see that this is a bone forming tumour.

All medical terms have a root word. They may also have a prefix, a suffix, or both a prefix and a suffix.

Prefixes have a droppable "o", which acts to connect the prefix to root words which begin with a consonant. As a general rule, the "o" is dropped when connecting to a root word beginning with a vowel (a, e, i, i, u).

Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time. Most medical words derive from ancient Greek and Latin.

Root Words

Some examples of root words:-

component	meaning	example
BLAST-	germ, immature cell	blastoma = a cancer made of immature cells
CARCIN-	cancer	carcinogenic = cancer causing
CARDIO-	heart	cardiotoxicity = toxicity to the heart
CYTO-	cell	cytotoxic = toxic to the cell
DERMA-	skin	dermatitis = inflammation of the skin
HISTIO-	tissue	histology = study of tissue
HEPATI-	liver	hepatoblastoma = liver cancer
MALIGN-	bad / harmful	malignant = growing, spreading
NEPHRO-	kidney	nephrotoxic = harmful to the kidneys
NEURO-	nerves	neurob1ast = an immature nerve cell
ONCO-	mass / tumour	oncology = the study of cancer
OSTEO-	bone / bony tissue	osteosarcoma = bone cancer
PAED-	child	paediatric oncology = study of childhood cancer
SARCO-	tissue	sarcoma = tumour of bone, muscle, or connective tissue
TOXO-	poison	toxicology = study of poisons

Suffixes

Some examples of suffixes:-

component	meaning	example
-AEMIA	condition of blood	leukaemia = cancer of blood cells
-ECTOMY	excision / removal	nephrectomy = excision of a kidney
-ITIS	inflammation	hepatitis = inflammation of the liver
-OLOGY	study / science of	cytology = the study of cells
-OMA	tumour	retinoblastoma = tumour of the eye
-PATHY	disease	neuropathy = disease of the nervous system
-OSIS	disease /condition	necrosis = dying cells

Prefixes

Some examples of prefixes:-

component	meaning	example
AN-, A-	without / lack of	anaemia = lack of red blood cells
AB-	away from	abnormal = away from the normal
AD-	near / toward	adrenal gland = gland near to the kidney
BI-	two / both	bilateral Wilm's = tumour in both kidneys
DYS-	difficult / painful	dysfunction = not working properly
ECTO-	outside	ectopic pregnancy = outside the uterine cavity
ENDO-	inside	endoscope = an instrument to look inside the body cavities or organs
EPI-	upon	epidermis = the outer layer of skin
HYPER-	excessive / above	hyperglycaemia = excessive blood sugar levels
HYPO-	beneath / below	hypodermic = injection below the skin
INTER-	between	intercostal = between the ribs
INTRA-	within / Inside	intravenous = into a vein
PARA-	beside, about, near	parathyroid = beside the thyroid gland
PERI-	around	pericardium = membrane around the heart
PRE-	before	prenatal = before birth
POST-	after	post surgical stage = stage after surgery
SUB-	under / below	submucosa = tissue below mucus membrane
SYN-	together with	syndrome = group of symptoms occurring together

Medical Terminology for Cancer

4: The Components of Medical Terminology

Contents

Components of Medical Words

Root Words

Suffixes

Prefixes

Further Reading (4 links)