Medical Terminology Learning Objectives

Medical Terminology Learning Objectives: • • • • Identify the basic word elements used to build a medical term. Recognise then patterns behind the language of medicine. Apply the principles of medical terminology to practical examples. Develop a familiarity and comfort with using common medical terms. Medical terminology allows for concise and efficient communication. History of Medical Terminology • • Originated during the Renaissance (14th – 17th century) when the discipline of anatomy begun. Early Italian anatomists and physicians used Latin and Greek to describe various parts of the anatomy. Italians are the ones how started to use Greek and Latin to describe the body. Other sources of medical terminology include: – Arabic: throughout the middle ages, Arabic scholars had taught medicine and originated many terms – English/French: medical terminology with roots from the English/French languages have been preeminent in biomedical science over the last 50 years – Biology: Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778), a Swedish botanist and physician – the father of modern taxonomy – developed the modern system of naming organisms Word elements • Medical terms are composed of word elements, also known as word parts, and consist of dome or all of the following elements: - Prefix (something in front of the word, does not necessarily need to have a prefix). But most words have a word root. - Word root (WR). Combining form - Combining Vowel - Suffix • Example: Pan/cyto/o/paenia • Word Root: - Foundations of the word that contains its main meaning. - - • Examples of roots and their meanings: - • Blood: Haem (Greek) Blood vessel: angi (Greek Root) or vascul (Latin) (sometimes the Greek word is used and sometimes the Latin word is used). Abdomen: lapar (Greek Root) Stomach: gastr (Greek Root) Eye: Opthalm (Greek Root) or Ocul (Latin Root) (sometimes the Greek word is used and sometimes the Latin word is used). Mouth: Oro (Latin Root) Upper Throat: Pharyng (Greek Root) Lower Throat: Laryng (Greek Root) Heart: Cardi (Greek Root) Brain: Cerebr (Greek Root) Bone: Oste (Latin Root) Combining Form (CF) - • Usually from Latin but can be originated from Greek or Arabic. At least one word root in most medical words. ✓ Some medical words such as heart and blood, are derived from early versions of French or English language without a word root. Examples of words with roots: ✓ Hepat in hepat/itis (inflammation) ✓ Tonsill in tonsill/ectomy ✓ Gastr in gastr/oma (something in the stomach) ✓ Laryng in laryng/itis (Inflammation) Created when a word root is combined with a vowel, known as a combining vowel. Difficulty pronouncing certain combinations of word roots requires insertion of a vowel. Combining vowel usually an o, but sometimes an i or an e No meaning of its own, but a combining vowel enables two or more-word elements to be connected. Examples of words with CFs: ✓ Mamm/o in mamm/o/gram ✓ Psych/o in psych/o/logy (logy means science of) ✓ Laryng/o in laryng/o/spasm (contracted) ✓ Hepat/o in hepat/o/megaly (Enlargement) Suffix - Word element at the end of a word Usually there is a suffix Changes the meaning of a medical word Contained in most medical words Usually an indication of a pathology, condition, symptom, therapeutic or diagnostic procedure Example: Appendic/ectomy Vs. Appendic/it is - - Examples of suffixes ✓ All suffixes beginning with a consonant need a combining vowel to be used between the word root and the suffix. -scope (instrument to view) in gastr/o/scope -spasm (twitching) in my/o/spasm -rrhexis (rupture) in angi/o/rrhexis -rrhoea (flow or discharge) in A/men/o/rrhoea -phagia (eating / swallowing) in Trich/o/phagia -ptysis (spitting) in haem/o/ptysis Examples of Suffixes: ✓ Suffixes beginning with a vowel, do NOT require a combining vowel between the word root and the suffix. -aemia (condition of blood) in hyper/calc/aemia -ectomy (removal) in appendic/ectomy -itis (inflammation) in appendic/itis -oma (tumour) in neur/oma -tomy (making an incision) in crani/o/tomy -emesis (vomiting) in haemat/emesis • Prefix - - The least common word element Word element at the beginning of a word Many the same as those used in the English language. Changes the meaning of a medical word. Not contained in all medical words Usually an indication of a number, time, position, measurement, direction, or negation Examples of words with prefixes: ✓ Hyper- (over or above -amount) in hyper/tension ✓ Hypo- (lesser than normal) in hypo/tension ✓ Hemi- (half) in hemi/plegia ✓ Epi- (above – position) in epi/derm/al (above the skin) ✓ Post- (after) in post/nat/al (depression that comes after having a baby). ✓ Inter- (between) in inter/cost/al Examples of Common Prefixes