Flashcards, matching, concentration, and word search. Look through these suffix lists. (Examples: -algia: pain in the _______, -emia: related to blood.). This is a list of roots, suffixes, and prefixes used in medical terminology, their meanings, and their etymology.There are a few rules when using medical roots.Firstly, prefixes and suffixes, primarily in Greek, but also in Latin, have a droppable -o-.As a general rule, this -o-almost always acts as a joint-stem to connect two consonantal roots, e.g. For instance, an orchiectomy is the removal of a testicle. This dictionary is a section of Suffix Prefix Dictionary, one of the most comprehensive online dictionaries of biological and medical suffixes and prefixes. (See -scopy: an exam, or -ectomy: surgical removal. In general, the suffixes used in constructing scientific terminology and med terms are either of Latin or Greek derivation. In constructing these terms, nearly always, a Latin prefix goes with a Latin suffix, and a Greek prefix goes with a Greek suffix. Medical Suffixes â the Internet's most comprehensive medical and biological suffixes list! Many of the more common biomedical suffixes are listed below (with links to their definitions). Sometimes it can feel like medical terminology is a language all of its own. Didn't find what you See also the medical terms in Basic Medical Vocabulary, and Medical Words and Symptom Vocabulary. “Orchi” is … Beverley Henderson, CMT-R, HRT has more than 40 years of experience in medical terminology and transcription as both an educator and manager.Jennifer L. Dorsey, PhD has coauthored, revised, and ghostwritten books in the medical, business, and personal growth categories for more than 20 years. (Note that sometimes itâs necessary to add an o- before the suffix to make the complete word sound better.). skills-- and more prepared for big tests & challenges. Click to see the related pages on EnglishHints. Suffixes that mean "condition of", adjective suffixes, suffixes pertaining to medical specialties and plural endings. (For example, cognates, past tense practice, or 'get along with.') Medical Terminology Suffixes. All Rights Reserved, English for Researchers & Health Professionals, -ac, -al, -ary (also âic and âous) â related or pertaining to (the ending makes a word into an adjective): cardiac (related to the heart), renal (relating to the kidneys), coronary (related to the arteries surrounding the heart like a crown), -algiaâpain: analgesic (taking away pain), myalgia (muscle pain), neuralgia (nerve pain), -cyteâa cell (also a prefix): leukocyte (white blood cell), monocytes (large leukocytes with a single nucleus), -emia- related to blood (also a prefix): anemia (absence or shortage of blood), hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), polycythemia (condition of many red blood cellsâthe cyt is for cell, as above), -genic âproducing or produced by (from genesisâorigin); erythrogenic (producing redness, or producing red blood cells), neurogenic (originating in a nerve), thrombogenic (causing thrombosis- blood clotting), -genous â producing or produced by/originating in: endogenous (originating within the body or a cell), exogenous (originating outside the body), -ic â related or pertaining to: arthritic (related to inflamed joints), gastric (related to the stomach), hemolytic (the breaking down of red blood cells, leading to a release of hemoglobin), septic (infected, relating to infectionâsepsis), -itis â inflammation: appendicitis (inflammation of the appendix), arthritis (inflammation of the joints), encephalitis (inflammation inside the head), hepatitis (inflammation of the liver), neuritis (inflammation of the nerves), -megalyâenlargement: cardiomegaly (enlarged heart), hepatomegaly (enlarged liver), -morphâform or shape: polymorphic (appearing in many forms), -oma-- tumor, swelling: carcinoma (a cancerous tumor), hematoma (a large blood-filled swelling), melanoma (a âblack tumorââa deadly type of skin cancer), -osisâcondition or disease state: kyphosis (abnormal spine curvatureâhunchback), necrosis (condition of death of that tissue), psychosis (mental illness), -ousârelated to: cancerous (related to cancer), infectious (related to or able to cause infection), nutritious (related to nutrition), subcutaneous (related to tissues below the skin surface), -pathy (can also be a prefix)-- suffering, disease: neuropathy (nerve disease or damage), psychopathic (related to a mental illness), -peniaâdeficiency: glycopenia (sugar deficiency), leukopenia (shortage of white blood cells), thrombocytopenia (low number of blood platelets), -phage, phagiaâeating: dysphagia (difficulty swallowing), macrophage (large white blood cell that âeatsâ bacteria and other pathogens), -plasia â growth or formation: erythroplasia (a type of reddish precancerous growth), hyperplasia (unusual growth), -plegiaâparalysis, loss of the ability to move: hemiplegia (paralysis of half of the body), quadriplegia (paralysis of all four limbs), -rrhagia-- flow: hemorrhage (excessive flow of blood out of the body), menorrhaghia (heavy or increased menstrual flow), -trophyâgrowth, development: atrophy (no growth, withering), hypertrophy (growing too much), phototropic (growing toward light), -istâperson with this skill: generalist, psychiatrist, specialist (see âlogist), -logyâthe study of: hematology (the study of blood), -logicârelated to the field of: hematologic (related to blood and its study), -logistâperson who has studied this: cardiologist (a heart doctor), dermatologist (a skin doctor), urologist (a doctor specializing in the urinary system), -ectomyâsurgical removal: appendectomy (removal of the appendix), cholecystectomy (removal of the gall bladder), hysterectomy (removal of the uterus), mastectomy (removal of a breast), thyroidectomy (removal of the thyroid), -gramârecord: angiogram (record/picture of blood vessels), electrocardiogram (record of heartbeat patterns), mammogram (breast x-ray picture), -lysis, -lyze-- separate, break apart: analyze (to separate into parts for closer examination), dialysis (artificial cleansing of the blood as it flows through a machine), urinalysis (examination of the component parts of the urine), -plastyâsurgical repair or rebuilding: angioplasty (widening of obstructed arteries), osteoplasty (repair of bone), rhinoplasty (repair and rebuilding of the nose), -scope, -scopyâlook at: bronchoscope (an instrument that looks at the bronchii of the lungs), colonoscopy (using a tube with a camera at the end to examine the colon), endoscopy (looking inside a hollow organ with a lighted, flexible tube and camera), stethoscope (an instrument used for listening to the heart, lungs, and other internal organs), -stomyâcreating an opening (related to the prefix stomaâmouth): colostomy (removal of part of the colon and creation of an artificial opening for excretion), tracheostomy (making an opening in the trachea/windpipe), -tomyâcutting into, incision: craniotomy (cutting into the skullâcranium), laparatomy (a large incision into the abdomen), vagotomy (cutting into the vagus nerve), Improve your reading fluency with selected 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