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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:

definition

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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.

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