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.

There are many conditions and diseases that afflict the respiratory system. To go along with these issues, there are specific medical terms that you will need to know. Check out the following to get going. Common respiratory conditions Of all the most common respiratory conditions, the bronchial tubes get the big daddy: asthma.

Once you know the specific parts of the integumentary system, it’s time to put your medical terminology expertise into practice by tracking down the meaning of root words and checking out their useful applications. The roots are essential medical terminology knowledge, because once you master these roots (good ol’ Greek and Latin ones, that is), you can break down any hair/skin/nail/gland-related word and discover its meaning.

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.

If you are stuck on a medical term, using the suffix can help you discern some meaning. Check out some suffix examples. Suffixes related to procedures include -centesis, referring to surgical puncture to remove fluid for diagnostic purposes or to remove excess fluid. That means abdominocentesis is surgical puncture of the abdominal cavity.

The physiological part of your body — the systems that help your heart beat, lungs breathe, stomach digest, glands drain, and nerves feel — is a complicated system that involves several hundred working parts. And, much like a beloved, well-worn car, it requires repair from time to time. Thanks to the modern miracle of laser and scope surgeries and procedures, many fixes can take place in a doctor’s office or outpatient setting.

Once you know the specific parts of the cardiovascular and lymphatic systems a bit better, it’s time to put your medical terminology expertise into practice. Here’s a list of cardio roots, prefixes, and suffixes. It also gives an example medical term for each. Root Word What It Means Example Aort/o Aorta Aortic Angi/o Vessel Angiogram Arteri/o Artery Arteriosclerosis Arteriol/o Arteriole Arteriolitis Ather/o Yellow plaque or fatty substance Atherosclerosis Atri/o, atri/a Atrium Atrioventricular Cardi/o Heart Cardiomegaly Coron/o Heart Coronary Ox/o, ox/i Oxygen Oximeter Phleb/o Vein Phlebitis Pulmon/o Lung Pulmonary Scler/o Hardening Sclerotherapy Thromb/o Clot Thrombus Valv/o, valvul/o Valve Valvular Vas/o Vessel Vasoconstriction Ven/o Vein Venotomy Venul/o Venule Venulitis Ventricul/o Ventricle Ventricular Prefix or Suffix What It Means Example Brady Slow Bradycardia Tachy Fast Tachycardia -graph Instrument used to record Electrocardiograph -graphy Process of recording Electrocardiography -gram Picture or finished record Electrocardiogram Check out this list of lymphatic roots and suffixes.