Medical Terminology Unit 1 The Basics

Medical Terminology Study Guide ***NOTE: ● Medical Terminology is heavily memorization based, especially for learning terms. Using this guide’s information, find your own way of studying (writing notes, flashcards, diagrams, etc.) The first unit covers basic terminology that is used in a healthcare setting. The building block terms located at the end of the first unit are essential to understand the remaining units, which cover terms, conditions and diseases specific to a body system. ● All images used in the study guide are labeled for noncommercial reuse. We do not claim ownership of any images used in this study guide. Unit 1: The Basics Military Time Conversions: ● Military time, based on 24 hours, is utilized in the medical field. ● It is more clear to use in healthcare documents; AM, PM are not used. Standard Military Standard Military 12:01 AM 0001 12:01 PM 1201 12:05 AM 0005 12:05 PM 1205 12:30 AM 0030 12:30 PM 1230 1:00 AM 0100 1:00 PM 1300 2:00 AM 0200 2:00 PM 1400 3:00 AM 0300 3:00 PM 1500 4:00 AM 0400 4:00 PM 1600 5:00 AM 0500 5:00 PM 1700 6:00 AM 0600 6:00 PM 1800 7:00 AM 0700 7:00 PM 1900 8:00 AM 0800 8:00 PM 2000 9:00 AM 0900 9:00 PM 2100 10:00 AM 1000 10:00 PM 2200 11:00 AM 1100 11:00 PM 2300 12:00 PM (noon) 1200 12:00 AM (midnight) 2400 Medical Symbols: ● The following symbols are used in prescriptions, doctor memos, etc. ● They save time in writing full terms and are more efficient. Term Symbol Term Symbol Right ® Not/None/Null ∅ Left Ⓛ Change Before ā Primary p̄ Secondary (think of the letter “a” being derived from △ 1° ante-, Latin for before) After (think of the letter “p” being derived from 2° post-, Latin for after) With (think of the letter “c” coming from the Spanish word con, c̅ which means with) Without (think of the letter “s” coming from the Treatment/ Prescription (this is the formal ℞ symbol, “Rx” or “rx” are generally used) s̅ Greater than > Spanish word sin, which means without) Every q Less than < Male ♂ Positive or ♀ Negative Increase ↑ Standing Decrease ↓ Sitting Moving toward → Lying down Female - ⊖ or Commonly Used Medical Abbreviations and Acronyms: ● General: Term +⨁ Meaning Pt or pt Patient c/o “Complains of” or “complaints of”; used when documenting patient symptoms. y/o year(s) old ER/ED Emergency room/emergency department OR Operating room STAT immediately NKDA “No known drug allergies” hs Half strength; bedtime WNL Within normal limits PRN As needed (in Latin pro re nata) CPR Cardiopulmonary resuscitation Hx or hx history Tx or tx treatment Dx or dx diagnosis Fx or fx fracture Dz or dz disease PT Physical therapy; physical therapist OT Occupational therapy; occupational therapist RT Respiratory therapy; respiratory therapist ROM Range of motion (sometimes used for “rupture of membranes’) H&P History and physical HPI History of present illness R/O Rule out (may or may not have) S/S Signs and symptoms (sometimes used for “swish and swallow”) s/p Status post (previous disease condition) D/C or d/c Discharge; discontinue SOB Shortness of breath OD Overdose (in ophthalmology used to describe “right eye”) OS Left eye OU Both eyes; each eye PERRA Pupils equal, round, reactive to light and accommodation ● Related to Medications: Term Meaning Rx Prescription, treatment OTC Over-the-counter (medication) po By mouth (which is Latin is “por os”) pr Per rectum (through the rectum) IV Intravenous (into the vein) IM intramuscular SQ Subcutaneous (under the skin) SL Sublingual (under the tongue) bid Twice a day tid Three times a day qid Four times a day mL milliliter cc Cubic centimeter (milliliter) Gtt drops ● Related to Lab Studies: Term Meaning CBC Complete Blood Count (bloodwork to look for infection or anemia) H&H Hematocrit (volume percentage of red blood cells in the blood) and hemoglobin BMP Basic metabolic panel (type of blood test) CMP Comprehensive metabolic panel (type of blood test) UA Urine analysis ● Related to Vital Signs: Terms Meaning V/S or VS Vital signs BP Blood pressure mmHG Millimeters of mercury (pressure) HR Heart rate bpm Beats per minute, breathers per minute RR or Resp Respiratory rate temp temperature ht height wt weight ● Related to Diagnostic Tests: Term Meaning EKG/ECG Electrocardiogram (of the heart) CXR Chest x-ray MRI Magnetic resonance imaging CT Computerized tomography (scan) ● Common Medical Conditions: Term Meaning CAD Coronary artery disease MI Myocardial infarction (heart attack) COPD Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (lung disease common in smokers) DM Diabetes mellitus HA headache CA cancer HTN Hypertension (high blood pressure) DJD Degenerative joint disease CHF congestive/chronic heart failure UTI Urinary tract infection GERD Gastroesophageal reflux disease ● Related to Medical Professions: Term Meaning MD Medical doctor/doctor of medicine DO Doctor of osteopathy (treatment through bones, joints, muscle massage) PA Physician’s assistant NP Nurse practitioner RN Registered nurse LVN Licensed vocational nurse CMA Certified medical assistant CNA Certified nursing assistant ● Directional Terms: Term Meaning standard anatomical position Agree reference for body position: standing on 2 legs, frontward, arms at sides, palms forward anterior (ventral) Front of the body posterior (dorsal) Back of the body; towards the back proximal Closer to origin of body part; point of attachment of limb to body trunk superior Above; toward the head inferior Below; away from the head medial Toward body midline lateral Away from midline; side distal Far from the trunk of the body deep Away from body surface; more internal superficial surface Planes of Reference and Cavities: ● Coronal/Frontal Plane ○ Divides body into anterior and posterior portions ● Sagittal Plane ○ Divides body into left and right portions ○ Midsagittal Plane ○ Parasagittal Plane ● Transverse/Cross-sectional Plane ○ Divides the body into superior and inferior portions ● Know general locations of the different body cavities (e.g. cranial cavity is located in the head/skull). Medical Terminology Building Blocks: ● IMPORTANT to memorize for all of the other units! ● Don’t worry! Many of these terms are basic ones (pre-, neur/o, -ologist, etc.). ● Develop a specific study method. I prefer Quizlet, which helped a lot with memorization. PREFIXES Meaning a-/an- Not, without pre- before post- after hypo- Under, below hyper- over sub- Under, below epi- above inter- Between, among intra- Within, inside micro- small macro- large dys- Bad, painful, difficult ROOTS neur/o Nerve, nervous system ophthalm/o Eye, vision ot/o Ear, hearing dermat/o skin cardi/o heart pulmon/o lung hepat/o liver nepgh/o kidney gastr/o stomach oste/o bone my/o Muscle, muscle tumor arthr/o joint SUFFIXES -ac,-ic,-al,-ous,- Related to or pertaining to tic -ectomy Excision, removal -itis Inflammation of -logist Specialist in the study of -logy Study of -oma Tumor mass -osis Abnormal condition -pathy Disease, disease condition -scope Lack, observe -scopy Visual examination -gram To record -graphy Process of recording