Prefixes and Suffixes

Andrea Nelson; Katherine Greene

2

Learning Objectives

Understand the difference between a prefix and a suffix.
Differentiate prefixes that deal with body parts, color, and direction.
Distinguish suffixes that deal with procedures.

Prefixes

Prefixes are located at the beginning of a medical term. The prefix alters the meaning of the medical term. It is important to spell and pronounce prefixes correctly.

Many prefixes that you find in medical terms are common to English language prefixes. A good technique to help with memorization is the following:

Start by reviewing the most common prefixes.
Consider common English language words that begin with the same prefixes.
Compare them to the examples of use in medical terms.

Common Prefixes

PREFIX	MEANING	EXAMPLE OF USE IN MEDICAL TERMS
A-, An-	Without; Lacking	Anemia
Andr/o-	Male	Androgen
Anti-	Against	Anticholinergic drugs
Auto-	Self	Autocrine
Bio-	Life	Biology
Chem/o-	Chemistry	Chemotherapy
Contra-	Against	Contraception
Cyt/o-	Cell	Cytokine
Dis-	Separation; Taking apart	Dissection
Dys-	Difficult; Abnormal	Dyspnea
Eu-	Good; Well	Eupnea
Fibr/o-	Fiber	Fibrosis
Gluco-, Glyco-	Glucose; Sugar	Glycogen
Gyn/o-, Gynec-	Female	Gynecology
Hydr/o-	Water	Hydrocephalus
Idio-	Self; One’s own	Idiopathic
Lyso-, Lys-	Break down; Destruction; Dissolving	Lysosome
Mal-	Bad; Abnormal	Malignant
Myc/o-	Fungus	Mycetoma
Necr/o-	Death	Necrosis
Neo-	New	Neonate
Oxy-	Sharp; Acute; Oxygen	Oxytocin
Pan-, Pant/o-	All or everywhere	Pancytopenia
Pharmaco-	Drug; Medicine	Pharmacist
Re-	Again; Backward	Rejuvenation
Somat/o-, Somatico-	Body; Bodily	Somatic cell

Body Part Prefixes

PREFIX	MEANING	EXAMPLE OF USE IN MEDICAL TERMS
Acous/o-	Hearing	Acoustic meatus
Aden/o-	Gland	Adenoid
Adip/o-	Fat	Adipocyte
Adren/o-	Gland	Adrenal cortex
Angi/o-	Blood vessel	Angioplasty
Arteri/o-	Artery	Arteriole
Arthr/o-	Joint	Arthroplasty
Bucc/o-	Cheek	Buccal cavity
Bronch/i-	Bronchus	Bronchioles
Burs/o-	Bursa	Bursa
Carcin/o-	Cancer	Basal cell carcinoma
Cardi/o-	Heart	Cardiology
Cephal/o-	Head	Cephalic flexure
Chol-	Bile	Cholesterol
Chondri-	Cartilage	Chondrosarcoma
Coron-	Heart	Coronary arteries
Cost-	Rib	Costal cartilage
Crani/o-	Brain	Cranium
Cutane-	Skin	Cutaneous
Cyst/o-, Cysti-	Bladder or sac	Cystoscopy
Derm-, Dermat/o-	Skin	Dermatologist
Duoden/o-	Duodenum	Duodenitis
Gastr-	Stomach	Gastrectomy
Gloss-	Tongue	Glossectomy
Hem-, Hema-, Hemat-, Hemo-, Hemat/o-	Blood	Hematopoiesis
Hepat/o-, Hepatico-	Liver	Hepatic portal system
Hist/o-, Histio-	Tissue	Histology
Hyster/o-	Uterus	Hysterectomy
Ileo-	Ileum	Ileostomy
Ischi/o-	Ischium	Ischial tuberosity
Kerat/o-	Corena (eye or skin)	Keratin
Lacrim/o-	Tear (from your eyes)	Lacrimal fluid
Lact/o-, Lacti-	Milk	Lactose
Laryng/o-	Larynx	Laryngitis
Lingu/o-	Tongue	Lingual tonsil
Lip/o-	Fat	Lipolysis
Lymph/o-	Lymph	Lymphocyte
Mamm-, Mast/o-	Breast	Mammary glands
Mening/o-	Meninges	Meningitis
Muscul/o-	Muscle	Musculoskeletal
My/o-	Muscle	Myocardium
Myel/o-	Spinal cord or bone marrow	Myelin
Nephr/o-	Kidney	Nephron
Neur/i-, Neur/o-	Nerve	Neuron
Oculo-	Eye	Oculomotor nerve
Onco-	Tumor; Bulk; Volume	Oncogene
Onych/o-	Fingernail; Toenail	Onychodystrophy
Oo-	Egg; Ovary	Oocyte
Oophor/o-	Ovary	Oophorectomy
Op-, Opt-	Vision	Optic nerve
Ophthalm/o-	Eye	Ophthalmic artery
Orchid/o-, Orchio-	Testis	Orchidectomy
Orth/o-	Straight; Normal; Correct	Orthostatic
Osseo-	Bony	Osseous tissue
Ossi-	Bone	Ossicles
Ost-, Oste/o-	Bone	Osteoporosis
Ot/o-	Ear	Otolaryngologist
Ovar/i-, Ovario-, Ovi-, Ovo-	Ovary	Ovarian follicle
Phalang-	Phalanx	Phalanges
Pharyng/o-	Pharynx; Throat	Pharyngeal tonsil
Phleb/o-	Vein	Phlebotomist
Phren/i-, Phreno-, Phrenico-	Diaphragm	Phrenic nerve
Pleur-, Pleur/a-, Pleur/o-	Rib, pleura	Pleural cavity
Pneum/a- Pneumat/o-	Air; Lung	Pneumonia
Proct/o-	Anus; Rectum	Proctoscopy
Prostat-	Prostate	Prostatectomy
Pseudo-	False	Pseudostratified
Psych/o-, Psyche-	Mind	Psychiatrist
Radio-	Radiation; Radius	Radioisotopes
Ren/o-	Kidney	Renal cortex
Retin-	Retina (of the eye)	Retinitis pigmentosa
Rhin/o-	Nose	Rhinoscope
Salping/o-	Tube	Salpingo-oophorectomy
Sarco-	Muscular; Flesh-like	Sarcomere
Schiz/o-	Split; Cleft	Schizophrenia
Sclera-, Sclero-	Hardness	Sclerosis
Sigmoid/o-	Sigmoid colon	Sigmoidoscopy
Sperma-, Spermo-, Spermato-	Sperm	Spermatocyte
Splen/o-	Spleen	Splenomegaly
Sten/o-	Narrowed; Blocked	Stenosis
Stern-	Sternum	Sternoclavicular joint
Stom/a-, Stomat/o-	Mouth	Stomatitis
Thorac/o-, Thoracico-	Chest	Thoracic cavity
Thromb/o-	Blood clot	Thrombolytic
Thyr/o-	Thyroid gland	Thyroiditis
Trache/o-	Trachea	Trachealis
Tympan/o-	Eardrum	Tympanic membrane
Ur/o-	Urine	Urologist
Vagin-	Vagina	Vaginal
Varic/o-	Duct; Blood vessel	Varicose veins
Vasculo-	Blood vessel	Vasculitis
Ven/o-	Vein	Venae cavae
Vertbr-	Vertebra; Spine	Vertebral column

Color Prefixes

PREFIX	MEANING	EXAMPLE OF USE IN MEDICAL TERMS
Chlor/o-	Green	Chlorophyll
Chrom-, Chromato-	Color	Chromosome
Cyano-	Blue	Cyanosis
Erythr/o-	Red	Erythrocyte
Leuk/o-	White	Leukocyte
Melan/o-	Black	Melanin

Physical Property and Shape Prefixes

PREFIX	MEANING	EXAMPLE OF USE IN MEDICAL TERMS
Cry/o-	Cold	Cryotherapy
Elect-	Electrical activity	Electrocardiogram
Kin/o-, Kine-, Kinesi/o-	Movement	Kinetic energy
Kyphy/o-	Humped	Kyphosis
Rhabd/o-	Rod-shaped; Striated	Rhabdomyosarcoma
Phot/o-	Light	Photoreceptor
Reticul/o-	Net	Reticulocytes
Scoli/o-	Twisted	Scoliosis
Therm/o-	Heat	Thermotherapy

Direction and Position Prefixes

PREFIX	MEANING	EXAMPLE OF USE IN MEDICAL TERMS
Ab-, Abs-	Away from	Abductor
Ad-	Towards	Adductor
Ante-	Before; Forward	Antenatal
Circum-	Around	Circumcision
Cycl-	Circle; Cycle	Cyclic neutropenia
De-	Away from; Ending	Dehydration
Dia-	Across; Through	Diagnosis
Ect/o-, Exo-	Outer; Outside	Exocrine gland
End/o-, Ent-, Enter/o-	Within; Inner	Endocrine gland
Epi-	Upon; Outside of	Epidermis
Ex-, Extra-	Beyond	Expiration
Infra-	Beneath; Below	Infratemporal fossa
Inter-	Between	Interstitial fluid
Intra-	Within	Intracellular fluid
Meso-	Middle	Mesoderm
Meta-	Beyond; Change	Metabolism
Para-	Alongside; Abnormal	Parathyroid glands
Path/o-	Disease	Pathologist
Peri-	Around	Pericardium
Post-	Behind; After	Postpartum
Pre-	Before; In front	Precancerous
Retro-	Backward; Behind	Retroperitoneum
Sub-	Under	Subcutaneous layer
Super-	Above	Superior
Supra-	Above; Upon	Supraglottis
Sy-, Syl-, Sym-, Syn-, Sys-	Together	Syndrome
Trans-	Across; Through	Transdermal

Quantity Prefixes

PREFIX	MEANING	EXAMPLE OF USE IN MEDICAL TERMS
Bi-	Two	Biceps
Brady-	Slow	Bradycardia
Diplo-	Double	Diploid
Hemi-	Half	Hemihypertrophy
Hetero-	Other; Different	Heterogeneous
Homo-	Same	Homozygous genotype
Hyper-	Above; Beyond; Excessive	Hypertension
Hypo-	Under; Deficient	Hypotension
Iso-	Equal; Like	Isointense
Macro-	Large; Long; Big	Macrophage
Mic-, Micro-	Small	Microglia
Mon-, Mono-	One	Monocyte
Olig/o-	Few; Little	Oliguria
Poly-	Many; Excessive	Polyuria
Quadri-	Four	Quadriceps
Semi-	Half	Semilunar valves
Tachy-	Fast	Tachycardia
Tetra-	Four	Tetralogy of Fallot
Tri-	Three	Triceps
Uni-	One	Unicellular

Concept Check

Do you know the difference between the prefixes inter-, infra-, and intra-?
What color is an erythrocyte? A leukocyte?
Which prefixes could you use to indicate something is:
- around something else?
- within something else?
- below something else?

Suffixes

Suffixes are word parts that are located at the end of words. Suffixes can alter the meaning of medical terms. It is important to spell and pronounce suffixes correctly.

Suffixes in medical terms are common to English language suffixes. Suffixes are not always explicitly stated in the definition of a word. It is common that suffixes will not be explicitly stated when defining a medical term in the workplace. However, when transcribing or reading medical reports the suffix is always clearly written. In order to properly spell and pronounce medical terms, it is helpful to learn the suffixes.

Common Suffixes

SUFFIX	MEANING	EXAMPLE OF USE IN MEDICAL TERMS
-ac	Pertaining to	Cardiac
-blast, -blasto, -blastic	Bud; Germ	Myeloblast
-cyte, -cytic	Cell	Thrombocyte
-dynia	Pain; Swelling	Thoracodynia
-eal, -ial	Pertaining to	Esophageal
-ectasis	Expansion; Dilation	Atelectasis
-emia	Blood condition	Anemia
-ia	Condition	Hemophilia
-iasis	Condition; Formation of	Psoriasis
-ism	Condition	Hypothyroidism
-ites, -itis	Inflammation	Arthritis
-ity	Pertaining to	Immunity
-ium	Structure or tissue	Epithelium
-lysis, -lytic	Break down; Destruction; Dissolving	Osteolytic
-malacia	Softening	Osteomalacia
-megaly	Enlargement	Acromegaly
-oid	Resembling	Arachnoid trabeculae
-oma	Tumor	Angiosarcoma
-osis	Condition; Usually abnormal	Endometriosis
-ous	Pertaining to	Aqueous
-pathy	Disease	Lymphadenopathy
-penia	Deficiency; Lack of	Thrombocytopenia
-phagia, -phagy	Eating; Swallowing	Dysphagia
-phasia	Speech	Aphasia
-plasia, -plastic	Growth	Hyperplasia
-plegia	Paralysis	Hemiplegia
-pnea	Breathing	Sleep apnea
-poiesis	Production	Hemopoiesis
-ptosis	Falling; Drooping	Apoptosis
-rrhage, -rrhagic	Bleeding	Hemorrhage
-rrhea	Flow or discharge	Diarrhea
-sclerosis	Hardening	Arteriosclerosis
-sis	Condition	Agranulocytosis
-stasis	Level; Unchanging	Homeostasis
-trophy	Growth	Hypertrophy
-uria	In the urine	Anuria

Procedure Suffixes

SUFFIX	MEANING	EXAMPLE OF USE IN MEDICAL TERMS
-centesis	Surgical puncture to remove fluid	Thoracentesis
-desis	Surgical binding	Pleurodesis
-ectomy	Cut out; Removal	Mastectomy
-gram	Record; Picture	Electrocardiogram
-graph	Instrument used to create a record or picture	Electrocardiograph
-graphy	To record or take a picture	Echocardiography
-meter	Device used for measuring	Sphygmomanometer
-opsy	Visual examination	Biopsy
-ostomy	Opening	Colostomy
-otomy	Incision	Laparotomy
-pexy	Surgical fixation	Oophoropexy
-plasty	Surgical reconstruction	Vertebroplasty
-scope	For examining	Endoscope
-scopy	Examine	Endoscopy

Concept Check

Do you know the difference between the suffixes -gram, -graph, and -graphy?
Which suffixes denote a condition or disease?

Word parts and definitions from “Appendix A: Word Parts and What They Mean” by MedlinePlus and is under public domain.

Definitions of medical term examples from:

Anatomy and Physiology (on OpenStax), by Betts et al. and is used under a CC BY 4.0 international license. Download and access this book for free at https://openstax.org/books/anatomy-and-physiology/pages/1-introduction
Concepts of Biology (on OpenStax), by Fowler et al. and is used under a CC BY 4.0 international license. Download and access this book for free at https://openstax.org/books/concepts-biology/pages/1-introduction
NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms by the National Cancer Institute and is used under public domain.

License

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Medical Terminology for Healthcare Professions Copyright © 2020 by Andrea Nelson and Katherine Greene is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.