Transcript File - Medical terminology

MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY
A LANGUAGE OF ITS OWN
Like a foreign language to most people.
Made of terms that describe the Human body in detail.
Used to convey the greatest quantity of information, with the least
confusion and most precision, to any medical professional in the
world.
A single medical term can describe a disease, condition, or
procedure that might otherwise take several words.
Example: appendectomy = surgical removal of the appendix
coxitis = inflammation of the hip joint
The foundation of medical terms are Greek and Latin.
75% of all medical terms are based on Latin or Greek terms.
The Greeks were the founders of modern medicine.
Latin is the language of choice for medicine and science.
The first medical dictionary appeared in the 1830s.
Dorland’s Illustrated Medical Dictionary was first published in
1890.
The rapid increase in medical and scientific knowledge
necessitates a new medical vocabulary to describe it.
It is impossible to learn ALL medical terms, but it is possible to
figure out their meanings by analyzing the word parts.
By learning the meaning of the basic word parts, you will
frequently be able to interpret the meaning of a word.
ETYMOLOGY
The science of the origin and development of words.
Indicates the origin and historical development of a term.
Helps you to find its origin and historical development.
Helps you decipher words with Latin and Greek origins.
EPONYMS
Eponyms are words named after people.
For example: Parkinson’s disease - named after the English
physician Dr. James Parkinson.
ACRONYMS
Modern language terms that stand for longer phrases.
ABBREVIATIONS
Shortened forms of words
Used in many health care fields.
Each medical facility has an approved abbreviations list.
It is the responsibility of the healthcare workers to learn the meanings
of the abbreviations used in the facility in which they work.
“When in doubt, spell it out!”
BASIC WORD PARTS : ROOTS
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The glue that holds all medical terms together.
The basic form around which the final word is formed.
The main part of the word.
The foundation of the word.
Gives you a clue as to what you are dealing with.
Specifies the body part.
Combining vowel, usually “o” or “i”, joins the root with a prefix,
suffix, or another root.
BASIC WORD PARTS:
COMBINING VOWELS
Vowels are not used if the word root or suffix begins with a vowel.
For example:
Encephal (o) : root meaning brain
Encephalitis : means inflammation of the brain
“itis” is a suffix meaning inflammation
“itis” begins with an “i” so a combining vowel is not needed.
Another Example:
Encephalogram
“gram” is a suffix meaning “tracing” or “record”
“gram” does not start with a vowel
Therefore, the combining vowel o is used
YOU TRY IT….
Leuk/o : white
cytes : cells
Combine them to form the word meaning white blood cells
MORE PRACTICE
Cyan/o : blue
-osis : condition
Combine them to form the word meaning a blue discoloration of
skin caused by a lack of adequate oxygen.
BASIC WORD PARTS: PREFIXES
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Appear at the beginning of words
Tells “how, why, where, when, how much, how many, position,
direction, time or status”
Gives us what to expect in a word’s meaning
serve to further define the word root
Refer to the prefix list
BASIC WORD PARTS: SUFFIXES
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Appear at the ends of words
tell us what is happening with a specific body part or system
Entail what is wrong with you or the procedure used to diagnose
or fix it
Refer to the list of suffixes
COMBINING FORM
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The combination of a word root with the combining vowel.
Example: cardi/o/gram
ANALYSIS
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Your goal is to learn the tools of word analysis
This will make the understanding of complex terminology easier
Learning to divide words into basic elements will help you to
interpret them.
• basic elements: roots, prefixes, suffixes, combining vowels
• Example:
• Gastroenterology
• Electrocardiogram
RULES TO REMEMBER
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Read the meaning of medical terms from the suffix back to the
first part of the word
Drop the combining vowel (usually o) before a suffix beginning
with a vowel - gastric not gastroic
Retain the combining vowel between two roots in a word
SPELLING IS ESSENTIAL
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Many words are pronounced alike but spelled differently and
have entirely different meanings
For example:
• Ileum is a part of the small intestine
• Ilium is a part of the pelvic or hip bone
PRONUNCIATION IS ALSO
IMPORTANT
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Words spelled correctly but pronounced incorrectly may be
misunderstood.
• Example:
• Urethra (yoo-ree-thruh) is the urinary tract tube leading
from the urinary bladder to the external surface
• Ureter (yoo-ree-ter) is one of two tubes leading from the
kidney to the urinary bladder
LEARNING A NEW LANGUAGE
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Learning medical words is similar to learning a new language
The words sound strange and complicated at first.
The medical language is logical in that each term, complex or
simple, can be broken down into its basic component parts.