1. Anatomy & Physiology
Understanding Terminology

2. Fundamentals & Origin
O Learning medical terminology can seem
overwhelming at first, but like all other
languages, certain standard rules apply.
For the most part, medical terminology is
comprised of words derived from Greek
and Latin languages. Understanding the
way medical terms are formed and
identifying the base of the words provides
you with the foundation.

3. Formulating Words
O Medical terms can be broken into three distinct
parts.
1. The word root – generally the central part of the
word (in the middle) and identifies the main
meaning, condition or body part.
2. The prefix – found at the beginning of the
word, and distinguishes a component or
subdivision of the word, to advance its
fundamental meaning.
3. The suffix – found at the end of the word and
signifies specific features, such as the
circumstances of an aliment, its progression and
the intended procedure or course of action that
will be used.

4. Root Word
O Seeing as root words are the key
terminology, you’ll want to familiarize
yourself with them.
O Root words tells What we are talking
about.
Pericardium
Cardi/o = heart

5. Prefix Suffix
O The Prefix tells of a position, a time when
it occurs, where it is located, how many, or
the color.
O The Suffix tells What is happening or
describes the root word.
Pericardium
Peri = around, surrounding, or outer
ium = Latin noun ending

6. More Examples
Epigastric
P:Upon/above R:stomach S:pertaining to
Endometriosis
P:within R:womb S:abnormal/condition
Hyperglycemia
P:above,more,over,excessive
R:sweet
S:of the blood

7. Combining Forms & Modifying Word
Meanings
Combining forms are the word root plus a vowel.
The most frequently used combining form is “o” and
tends to be located after the word’s prefix.
Again, this is best explained by seeing it on paper. In
the word myocarditis, we see that the Greek prefix
“my/mys” (muscle) the combining “o” form was
added, giving us “myo.” The “o” merges parts of the
word to create its definition. To better illustrate, take
a look at the following popular example: acr
(extremity), cardio (heart) and gastr (stomach). By
means of adding the combining form, “o” we get
acro/o, cardi/o and gastr/o.

8. Combining Forms & Modifying Word
Meanings
The prefix and suffix of a root word also get
modified to alter the implication of a term
without changing its central meaning (the
root word remains the same). We can see
the way “myocarditis” can be changed by
switching the prefix. Replace “myo” with
“peri” (which means outer) or “endo”
(meaning inner), and you’ll have pericarditis
and endocarditis.

9. Combining Forms & Modifying Word
Meanings
You should be able to have gauged their
meanings, since you’re familiar with the root
word and the prefixes. If we keep only the
root of the word – “cardio” and change the
suffix into “ologist” (physician/doctor that
specializes in the heart), “pathy” (meaning
damage) or “megaly” (which means
enlargement), we have three completely
different words:
cardiologist, cardiomyopathy, and
cardiomegaly. (medword.com)

10. Some Exceptions
O Not all words have a prefix
(cardiovascular).
O Some words have more than one root
word (cardiovascular).
O Different prefixes can have the same
meaning.
O Hom/o and Home/o = same
O Di and Bi = two