Spelling
Correct spelling of medical terms is essential because a misspelled word may give an entirely different meaning! Changing just one or two letters can change the entire meaning of a word. For example, a macrocyte is an abnormally large red blood cell, but a microcyte is an abnormally small red blood cell. Two or more medical terms may also be pronounced in the same way but have different meanings. For example, ileum and ilium are pronounced in the same way. However, ileum is the distal part of the small intestine while ilium is part of the pelvis.
Tips for succeeding in learning medical terminology
Since students learn in various ways, it is important to utilize a variety of methods to learn medical terminology. For some students, writing words helps them to learn faster than simply reading them. Some students retain material better when they use various learning methods. Speaking into a tape recorder and using it to practice pronunciation is helpful. Proper pronunciation of medical terms takes time and practice. Listening to how words are pronounced by medical professionals and using medical dictionaries and textbooks are the best ways to learn pronunciation. Making flash cards to quiz yourself may be another useful method. There are also online quizzes and flash cards available. The key is repetition. Learning and memorizing these terms will require time and concentration.
Now that you have a basic understanding of the different parts of a word, let’s look at some commonly used prefixes, suffixes, and root words.
Prefixes
By learning the meanings of the commonly utilized prefixes, you will be able to break down unfamiliar words to find out their meaning. It may be helpful to divide them into categories according to their meaning. Below are the prefixes arranged into six categories.
1 Prefixes related to position regarding time and place
2 Prefixes describing position or location
3 Prefixes related to type
4 Prefixes related to direction
5 Prefixes describing number or quantity
6 Prefixes related to size, amount, and color
If we have the root word “operative” we can change the meaning by inserting different prefixes. For example:
preoperative – before a surgery
postoperative – after the surgery
perioperative – around the time of the surgery
Prefixes related to position regarding time and place:
| ana‐ | up, back again |
| ante‐ | before, in front of, forward |
| cata‐ | down, through |
| meta‐ | beyond, over, between, change, after |
| noct‐ | night |
| post‐ | after, behind |
| pre‐ | before, in front of |
| prim‐ | first |
| sym‐, syn‐ | together, union, with |
Prefixes describing position or location:
| anti‐ | against, opposing |
| apo‐ | separation from or derivation from |
| circum‐ | around |
| contra‐ | opposite, against, opposed |
| dorso‐ | pertaining to the back |
| ecto‐ | outside, misplaced |
| endo‐ | within, inner |
| epi‐ | on, over, upon |
| extra‐ | outside of, in addition to |
| hyper‐ | above, excessive, beyond |
| hypo‐ | under, deficient, beneath |
| infra‐ | below |
| inter‐ | between parts |
| intra‐ | within parts |
| medi‐ | middle |
| para‐ | beside, beyond |
| peri‐ | around |
| pro‐ | for, in front of, before |
| pseudo‐ | false |
| sub‐ | beneath, under |
| super‐, supra‐ | excessive, above, superior |
| trans‐ | across, through, over, beyond |
| ultra‐ | excessive, extreme, beyond |
Prefixes related to type:
| a‐, an‐ | without, absent, lack of |
| auto‐ | self |
| bi‐ | two, double, twice |
| brady‐ | slow |
| co‐, com‐, con‐ | with, together |
| cry‐ | cold |
| crypto‐ | hidden |
| dys‐ | difficult, bad, painful, abnormal |
| eu‐ | good, normal |
| glyco‐, gluco‐ | sugar, sweet |
| gyn‐, gyneco‐ | female |
|
hydra‐, hydro‐
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