Medical Word Roots, Prefixes, Suffixes & Combining Forms

1. Medical Word Roots, Prefixes, Suffixes &Combining Forms

2. Medical Word & Element Meaning • ab- away from • acou-, acous/o hearing • adeno/o gland • aer/o air • alb, alb/o white • angi/o vessel (blood, lymph) • aque/o water • arthr/o joint • ather/o fatty plaque • audi/o hearing • calc/o calcium • carcin/o cancer • cephal/o head

3. Medical Word & Element Meaning • cervic/o neck • chlor/o green • chondr/o cartilage • cost/o ribs • -crine, crin/o secretion • cry/o cold • -cusis, -cusia hearing • cyst/o bladder • dent/o, dent/i teeth, tooth • dipsia, dips/o thirst • end/o within, inner • encephal/o brain • enter/o intestine (usually small intestine)

4. Medical Word & Element Meaning • exo- out of, away from • fibr/o fiber • -gen, genesis producing, forming • -glia glue-like • gloss/o tongue • hemangi/o blood vessel • hepat/o liver • hydr/o water • icle- small • infra- below • ist specialist • itis inflammation • labi/o lip

5. Medical Word & Element Meaning • -lepsy seizure • leuk/o white • lingu/o tongue • -lith, lith/o stone, calculus • macro- large • -malacia softening • -megaly enlargement • melan/o black • micro- small • mon/o single • nat/o birth • necr/o death • orth/o straight

6. Medical Word & Element Meaning • -osis abnormal condition • oste/o bone • ot/o ear • para- near, besides, around • -penia decrease, deficiency • -phasia speech • phon/o sound • presby/o old age • proct/o anus, rectum • -ptosis prolapse, falling, drooping • py/o pus • pyr/o fire • rhin/o nose

7. Medical Word & Element Meaning • scler/o hardening • -spasm involuntary contraction, twitching • spondyl/o vertebrae • -stenosis stricture, narrowing • therm/o heat • thorac/o, thora- chest • -tome instrument to cut • tox, toxic/o poison • -tripsy crushing • vesic/o bladder • uni- 1 • xanth/o yellow • xer/o dry