Jennifer L. Dorsey

Grasping medical terminology starts with knowing the body’s systems, recognizing medical root words commonly used, understanding the Greek influence in medical terminology, and learning those pesky hard-to-spell medical words.Your Body’s SystemsYour body is made up of many systems, each having their own vital parts that work together.

What makes up the inside of your body, from cells to organs and everything in between, lends itself to an abundance of body part-related medical terms. All the root words and combining forms can morph into all kinds of different words that explain everything from everyday common conditions and procedures to pathology and pharmacology.

If you are just getting started learning medical terminology, prefixes and suffixes are a good launching point. Yes, there are lots more prefixes for medical terminology than you see listed here. But, to get you started, here is a quick look at some of the most common prefixes that play a huge role in both common, everyday English and medical terminology.

Reproduction is a touchy subject, complete with an extensive vocabulary of medical terminology. Make sure you take the time to familiarize yourself with the ins and outs of the female reproductive system. Common female reproductive conditions There’s more to the female reproductive system than making babies. With all that equipment, there’s bound to be a fair share of technical difficulties ranging from the downright annoying to the long-lasting: Amenorrhea: Absence of menstrual period Cervicitis: Inflammation of the cervix Dysmenorrhea: Painful menstrual periods Dyspareunia: Painful or difficult intercourse Endometritis: Inflammation of endometrium Gynatresia (atresia): Absence of normal body opening (an occlusion); gynatresia usually refers to part of female genital tract, the vagina HRT (hormone replacement therapy): Replacement of hormones to treat menopausal symptoms Hydrosalpinx: Water in fallopian tube Mastitis: Inflammation of the breast occurring during breastfeeding, usually bacterial in nature Menometrorrhagia: Excessive menstrual flow both during and between menstrual periods Menorrhagia: Heavy menstrual period Oophoritis: Inflammation of ovary PMD (premenstrual dysphoric syndrome): Used to describe severe premenstrual syndrome, which results in a week or two of hormonally triggered clinical depression every month PMS (premenstrual syndrome): Cyclic disorder involving physical and emotional symptoms in the premenstrual phase; symptoms include fatigue, bloating, tension, and irritability Vaginitis: Inflammation of the vagina Some conditions of the female reproductive system are specifically related to pregnancy and childbirth: Abruptio placentae: Premature separation of placenta from the uterine wall causing bleeding and a rigid, painful abdomen and requiring emergency cesarean section Dystocia: Difficult or abnormal labor Eclampsia: Severe complication of pregnancy involving convulsions and/or coma in a pregnant female Ectopic pregnancy: Pregnancy occurring outside the uterus (tubal pregnancy) requiring emergency surgery Intrauterine fetal death: Fetal death occurring before expected date of birth Missed abortion: A fetal demise has occurred but miscarriage by expulsion has not taken place Placenta previa: Placenta develops in the lower uterine wall and may cover the cervix, blocking the birth canal and requiring a C-section; can be diagnosed by ultrasound Preeclampsia: Condition during pregnancy or shortly after delivery with high blood pressure, edema (swelling), and protein in the urine Salpingocyesis: Pregnancy occurring in fallopian tube or ectopic pregnancy Spontaneous abortion: A miscarriage, usually occurring before 12 weeks of gestation Stillbirth: Fetal death in utero, occurring before delivery Female reproductive diseases and pathology A woman’s mental and sexual health are intricately interwoven with physical health.

Got a problem with the respiratory system? Well, here are the medical terms you’ll need. Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, there are all sorts of ways physicians and other medical professionals can diagnose what ails those airways. Respiratory radiology and diagnostic tests To start, physicians rely on their senses to look and listen to what your lungs and associated respiratory parts are doing.

Most common medical terms used today are derived from Latin or Greek. After all, the Greeks were the founders of modern medicine. Examples of medical terminology used today based on the Greek language are The word semantics is derived from the Greek semantikos, meaning “significant.” Coccyx comes from the Greek word for “cuckoo” -- it resembles a cuckoo’s beak.

Don’t get discouraged studying medical terminology. A large group of medical terms are notorious for being difficult to spell. These medical terms are commonly misspelled: Abscess, adolescence, alimentation, alopecia, Alzheimer, analyze, aneurysm, anorexia, arrhythmia, ascites, asphyxia, asystole, auscultation, callus, catheter, Caucasian, chickenpox, cirrhosis, curettage, decubitus, diabetes mellitus, diaphoresis, diaphragm, dilatation, diphtheria, eczema, effusion, elicit, epididymitis, fascia, flaccid, gallbladder, gangrene, gauge, gonorrhea, hemoptysis, hemorrhoid, humerus, hygiene, icterus, inoculate, intraocular, intussusception, ischemia, melanin, menstruation, oophorectomy, ophthalmology, orthopnea, pacemaker, palliative, palpate, palpitation, perineum, periosteum, peritoneum, peroneal, prosthesis, prostate, protocol, pruritus, rhythm, sagittal, sedentary, sequela, sieve, spleen, splenectomy, supersede, syncope, syphilis, tonsils, tonsillectomy, tricuspid, ventricle, vertical, and xiphoid.

The root of a word is its main part and core meaning. These common medical root words give you a general idea of what you’re dealing with or specify a body part. Abdomin/o: Abdomen Aden/o: Gland Anter/o: Front Arteri/o: Artery Audi/o: Hearing Bio: Life Brachi/o: Arm Bronch/i, bronch/o: Br