HOW TO DECIPHER THE MEDICAL LANGUAGE MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY “THE

HOW TO DECIPHER THE MEDICAL LANGUAGE MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY “THE EASY WAY”

MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY THE LANGUAGE OF HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS There are millions of medical terms, root words, and word parts. So, how do I remember them all? “It’s extremely difficult to remember every term . However, if you know how to break the term down into parts and analyze them then it becomes easy to decipher and understand. This also makes it easier to understand more words than you ever thought possible! Are you ready to get started?

ORIGINS –”SPEAKING A NEW LANGUAGE” Word parts in general come from two language origins: Greek Latin

THERE ARE 5 BASIC WORD PARTS 1. Root word 2. Suffix 3. Prefixes 4. Combining vowel 5. Combining form

WORD ROOT OR ROOT WORD Root Word – base of the word, usually indicates the involved body part it is referring to Examples: cardi myo – gastr – cyt – A medical term can have one or more root words. Ex. – cardi/o/thorac/ic pertaining to heart and chest

SUFFIXES Word ending; usually indicates a procedure, condition, disorder or disease. Read from the suffix backwards to the root word for the correct meaning. Suffixes can be nouns or adjectives Most All medical words have suffixes Examples: -itis -ectomy -logy -emia

PREFIXES Word beginning; usually indicates location, time, or a number Not all medical words have prefixes Examples: an intra hyper hypo-

COMBINING VOWELS AND FORMS Combining Vowel A vowel that links two word parts together Usually an ‘o’ Has no meaning of it’s own Combining Form – root word plus a combining vowel Examples: Leuk/o – Cardi/o – Gastr/o – Oste/o –

RULES FOR USING COMBINING VOWELS 1. When the ending of the root word and the beginning of the suffix are both consonants, use a combining vowel. Example – hemat/o/logy 2. When the ending of the root word is a consonant, and the beginning of the suffix is a vowel, do not use a combining vowel. Example – gastr/itis

SPELLING Spelling the word correctly is crucial in the medical field One wrong letter could mean an entirely different place on the body or test to be performed Examples – ilium and ileum

RULES FOR USING COMBINING VOWELS 3. A combining vowel is always used when two root words are joined. a. Example – cardi/o/thorac/ic 4. A prefix does not require a combining vowel a. Example – epi/gastr/ic

TAKING TERMS APART One can decipher a medical word’s meaning by looking at the component pieces. Do this in order. 1) Start at the suffix (all medical terms will have one) 2) Identify if there is a prefix (not all medical terms will have one) 3) Locate the root words (there may be more than one) 4) Identify the meaning of each word part as you separate them

1. CAN YOU BREAK THESE DOWN Write the following words on your paper leaving 4 spaces between words: Endocardium Pneumonia Hypothermia bradypnea 3. Using the appendix, break each word into word parts by placing a line in between the breaks (a / pnea) 4. Then, define the meaning of each word part by using the definition in the appendix (a no, not, without and -pnea breathing) 5. Finally, write the definition of each medical word (apnea without breathing or no breathing)