Jennifer L. Dorsey

Article / Updated 08-11-2021

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. Remember that you can take any root word or combining form and create several different medical terms. Root Word What It Means Example(s) Abdomin/o Abdomen Abdominoplasty: Surgical repair or reconstruction of the abdomen Angi/o Vessel Angioplasty: Surgical repair or reconstruction of a vessel Arteri/o Artery Arterioplasty: Surgical repair or reconstruction of an artery Arthr/o Joint Arthritis: Inflammation of a joint Arthroplasty: Surgical repair or reconstruction of a joint Audi/o Hearing Audiometry: Measurement of hearing using an audiometer Bio Life Biology: The study of life and living organisms Bronch/i, bronch/o Bronchus/lung Bronchitis: Inflammation of the bronchi Bronchoscopy: Visual examination of the bronchi Cardi/o Heart Cardiomegaly: Enlargement of the heart Cardiac: Pertaining to the heart Carditis: Inflammation of the heart Cholecyst/o Gallbladder Cholecystectomy: Removal of the gallbladder Cholecystitis: Inflammation of the gallbladder Chondr/i, chondr/o Cartilage Chondromalacia: Softening of cartilage Col/o Colon Colonoscopy: Visual examination of the colon Colonoscope: Instrument used in colonoscopy Cry/o Cold Cryobiology: Branch of biology dealing with effects of low temperatures Cysti, cyst/o Bladder, or cyst Cystectomy: Surgical removal of a simple cyst or of the urinary bladder Cystitis: Inflammation of the bladder Cystogram: Radiograph of the bladder Cystopexy: Surgical fixation of the bladder to abdominal wall Cyt/o Cell Cytology: Study of cells Duoden/o Duodenum Duodenotomy: Surgical cutting into the duodenum Duodenectomy: Surgical removal of the duodenum Duodenitis: Inflammation of the duodenum Encephal/o Brain Encephalitis: Inflammation of the brain Episi/o Vulva Episiotomy: Surgical cutting of the vulva Erythr/o Red Erythrocytes: Red blood cells Erythema: Reddening of the skin Esophag/o Esophagus Esophagitis: Inflammation of the esophagus Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD): Visual examination of the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum by scope Galact/o Milk Galactorrhea: Spontaneous flow of milk when nursing Gastr/o Stomach Gastritis: Inflammation of the stomach Gastrectomy: Surgical removal of the stomach Gastrodynia: Stomach ache Glyc/o Sugar Glycosuria: Sugar in the urine Gynec/o Female Gynecologist: Physician who studies and treats diseases of female reproductive organs Hemat/o, hem/o Blood Hematocyte: Blood cell Hepat/o, hepatic/o Liver Hepatitis: Inflammation of the liver Heter/o Other, different Heterosexual: Sexually attracted to the opposite sex Hist/o, histi/o Tissue Histology: Study and function of tissue Hom/o, home/o Same, alike Homosexual: Sexually attracted to the same sex Hydr/o Water, wet Hydromassage: Massage by means of moving water Hyster/o Uterus Hysterectomy: Surgical removal of the uterus Ile/o Ileum (intestine) Ileostomy: Artificial opening into the ileum Ileitis: Inflammation of the ileum Ili/o Ilium (pelvic bone) Ilioinguinal: Pertaining to the ilium and inguinal regions Jejun/o Jejunum Jejunitis: Inflammation of the jejunum Jejunostomy: Artificial opening into the jejunum Lacrima Tears Lacrimatory: Causing a flow of tears Laryng/o Larynx Laryngitis: Inflammation of the larynx Laryngectomy: Surgical removal of the larynx Leuk/o White Leukocyte: White blood cell Lith/o Stone or calculus Lithotripsy: Crushing of a stone or calculus Men/o Menstruation Menorrhea: Menstrual flow Menorrhagia: Excessive or heavy menstrual flow Myel/o Bone marrow/spinal cord Myelogram: Recording of the spinal cord My/o Muscle Myositis: Inflammation of a muscle Myalgia: Pain in a muscle or painful muscle Nat/o Birth Prenatal: Before birth Postnatal: After birth Necr/o Death Necrosis: Death of a cell Necrophobia: Morbid fear of death or dead bodies Nephr/o Kidney Nephrectomy: Surgical removal of a kidney Neur/o, neur/i Nerve Neurologist: Physician who studies and treats conditions of the nervous system Oophor/o Ovary Oophorectomy: Surgical removal of an ovary Oophoritis: Inflammation of an ovary Orchid/o, orchi/o Testis Orchialgia: A pain in the testicle Orchiectomy: Surgical removal of a testicle Peritone/o Peritoneum Peritoneal: Pertaining to the peritoneum Peritonitis: Inflammation of the peritoneum Pharyng/o Pharynx Pharyngitis: Inflammation of the pharynx (sore throat) Pleur/o, pleur/a Pleura, rib (side) Pleurisy: Inflammation of the lining of the chest cavity Pleurolysis: Surgical separation of pleural adhesions Pneum/a/o/ato/ono Lungs Pneumonitis: Inflammation of the lung Proct/o Rectum, anus Proctologist: Physician who studies and treats diseases of rectum and anus Pulmon/o Lungs Pulmonary: Pertaining to the lungs Pyel/o Renal pelvis Pyelography: Radiograph (x-ray) of the pelvis of the kidneyPyelolithotomy: Removal of a stone from the kidney pelvis Rect/o Rectum Rectosigmoid: Pertaining to the rectum and sigmoid Salping/o Fallopian tube Salpingectomy: Surgical removal of a fallopian tube Sarc/o Flesh Sarcoid: Resembling flesh Splen/o Spleen Splenomegaly: Enlargement of the spleen Splenectomy: Surgical removal of the spleen Tend/o, ten/o, tendin/o Tendon Tendinitis (or tendonitis): Inflammation of a tendon Testicul/o Testis Testicular: Pertaining to a testis or testicle Testitis: Inflammation of a testis Thorac/o Chest Thoracotomy: Incision into the chest cavity Thoracentesis: Surgical puncture into chest cavity Tonsill/o Tonsils Tonsillectomy: Surgical removal of tonsils Tonsillitis: Inflammation of the tonsils Ureter/o Ureter Ureterolithotomy: Removal of a calculus (stone) from a ureter by means of incision Ureteropelvic: Pertaining to the ureter and pelvis of the kidney Urethr/o Urethra Urethritis: Inflammation of the urethra Urethropexy: Surgical fixation of the urethra Vas/o Vas deferens Vasectomy: Surgical removal of portion of vas deferens for male sterilization Viscer/o Viscera (organs) Viscerography: Radiography of the viscera

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

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. Remember: myo (muscle) is not to be confused with myelo (bone marrow). Diaphoresis comes from the Greek dia meaning “through” and phoreo meaning “I carry.” Translated, it means “the carrying through of perspiration.” Glaucoma: Greek glaukos means “blue-grey,” and oma means “a condition.” In glaucoma, gray color replaces the black pupil. Both Latin and Greek play a role in the roots of the word for heart, cardium. This word stems from the Greek word kardia. Adenoid comes from the Greek aden, meaning “gland,” and cidos, meaning “like.” The term was once used for the prostate gland. Pancreas is so named because of its fleshy appearance. Greek pan means “all,” and krea means “flesh.” Endocrine: Take endo and add it to the Greek krinein, which means “to separate.” Paraplegia: The Greek para means “beside,” and plegia means “paralysis.” The Greek word pyelos means “tub-shaped vessel,” which describes the shape of the kidney. Venereal is derived from Venus, the goddess of love. It was thought in ancient times to be one of the misfortunes of love.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

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.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

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: Bronchus Carcin/o: Cancer Cardi/o: Heart Col/o: Colon Cyt/o: Cell Derm/a, derm/o, dermat/o: Skin Dors/i, dors/o: Back or posterior Encephal/o: Brain Gastr/o: Stomach Gynec/o: Female Hemat/o: Bl ood Hist/o, histi/o: Tissue Intestin/o: Intestine Lapar/o: Abdomen, loin or flank Lymph/o: Lymph vessels My/o: Muscle Neur/o: Nerve Ocul/o: Eye Ophthalm/o: Eyes Optic/o, opt/o: Seeing, sight Or/o: Mouth Ot/o: Ear Path/o: Disease Pharmac/o: Drug Pulmon/o: Lungs Sept/o: Infection Thorac/o: Chest/thorax Thyr/o: Thyroid gland Trachel/o: Neck or necklike Trich/o: Hair or hairlike Ventr/i, ventr/o: Front of body Viscer/o: Viscera (internal organs)

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Your body is made up of many systems, each having their own vital parts that work together. This list represents your bodily systems and the specific parts that comprise them: Skeletal: Bones, axial skeleton, appendicular skeleton, and joints Muscular: Muscles and tendons Integumentary: Skin, hair, nails, and glands in skin Sensory: Eyes, ears, nose, skin receptors, and mouth Cardiovascular: Heart, blood vessels, and blood Lymphatic: Tonsils, spleen, thymus, lymph nodes, lymphatic vessels, and lymph fluid Respiratory: Nose, pharynx, larynx, trachea, bronchi, and lungs Gastrointestinal: Mouth, esophagus, stomach, small and large intestines, pancreas, liver, and gallbladder Endocrine: Hormones, pituitary gland, thyroid, adrenal glands, pancreas, and gonads Nervous: Brain, spinal cord, ganglia, nerves, and sensory organs Urinary: Kidneys, ureters, bladder, and urethra Reproductive: Ovaries, uterine tubes, uterus, and vagina in females; testes, ducts, penis, urethra, and prostate in males

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

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. Some, though, are more complex. Here’s a look at just a few of the physio fixes you might encounter in your medical career: Belsey Mark V: Transthoracic hiatus hernia repair Bischof: Longitudinal incision of spinal cord for treatment of spasticity of lower extremities Dexamethasone suppression test: Blood test to assess adrenal gland function, measures how cortisol levels change in response to a dexamethasone injection; to diagnose Cushing’s syndrome Eloesser window thoracostomy: To treat pleural empyema, creation of small, permanent opening in chest wall to allow long-term drainage of empyema Fluid deprivation test: Used to diagnose diabetes insipidus, patient deprived of fluids for a prolonged period of time to determine cause of thirst Fontan: A palliative procedure used in children with complex congenital heart defects Frazier-Spiller: Destruction (rhizotomy) of the trigeminal nerve to relieve neuralgia Hofmeister: Gastrectomy with portion of stomach removed and retrocolic gastrojejunostomy constructed Overholt: Named after Dr. Richard Overholt, a thoracic surgeon who performed the first successful removal of a lung in a cancer patient, and America’s anti-smoking pioneer Ransohoff: Making numerous cross incisions through the pulmonary pleura to relieve empyema Sestamibi parathyroid scintigraphy: Nuclear medicine procedure to localize a parathyroid adenoma Torkildsen: Cranial ventricular shunt procedure in patient with noncommunicating hydrocephalus Vineberg: Implantation of the internal mammary artery into the left ventricle for relief of myocardial ischemia

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

The urinary system is complex, primarily because it works a bit differently for men and women. The plumbing, so to speak, is a bit different between the sexes. That said, some symptoms, syndromes, and procedures are applicable to both men and women, some more so than others. And, believe it or not, a lot of these have some funny names. Talking about pee tends to make people blush anyway, but add these crazy names into the mix and you’ll laugh out loud — even though the procedures and diseases themselves are not necessarily hilarious. Some of them are named after real, live people, and some are just downright strange. Fair warning: Don’t try to hold it in before you read these. Procedures associated with the urinary system Denis Browne: Surgical procedure to correct hypospadias Millen-Read: For correction of stress incontinence using a suprapubic approach Stanischeff: Surgery to correct renal ptosis (nephropexy) Signs of urinary system problems Flush-tank: Passage of a large amount of urine and coincidental temporary disappearance of a lumbar swelling; a sign of hydronephrosis Lloyd: Pain in loin on deep percussion over the kidney, indicating renal calculi or nephritis Rommelaere: Diminished phosphates, sodium chloride, and nitrogen in the urine, indicating cancerous cachexia Urinary system syndromes Fanconi: Disorder of kidney tubules; substances normally absorbed into the bloodstream by the kidneys are released into the urine instead Megacystis-megaureter: Presence of massive, primary, nonobstructing reflux with a large, smooth, thin-walled bladder due to continued recycling of refluxed urine Nonnenbruch (extrarenal kidney): Resulting in oliguria

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Your bones, muscles, skin, and senses form an intricate network that holds your body up, keeps it moving, protects it, and brings messages to your brain that help it function. From time to time, though, your bod may not be running at top speed, and one of these systems may be the culprit. Sure, typical ailments like joint pain, broken bones, and skin rashes can wreak havoc on this network of systems. But don’t forget about the rarer issues that can pop up as well. Many of these have names as singular as the pioneering doctors and scientists for whom they are named. Check out what might be knocking around under your hood: Anghelescu: Inability to bend the spine while lying on the back Auspitz: Appearance of bleeding spots when psoriasis scales are scraped off Babinski: Loss of Achilles tendon reflex in sciatica Bertolotti: Sacralization of the 5th lumbar vertebra, with sciatica and scoliosis Bloch-Sulzberger: Genetic disorder that affects skin, hair, nails, and teeth with skin blistering and wart-like rash Dalrymple: A widened eyelid opening or eyelid spasm, seen in Graves’ disease Darier: Change observed after stroking the skin of a person with urticaria pigmentosa; skin becomes swollen, red, and itchy Gougerot-Blum (pigmented purpuric lichenoid dermatitis): Skin condition characterized by small rust-colored papules on the legs, primarily seen in men Hailey-Hailey (familial benign pemphigus): Genetic disorder causing blisters to form on the skin Hennebert: Nystagmus when positive or negative pressure is applied to tympanic membrane indicating labyrinthitis Jendrassik: Paralysis of the extraocular muscles Kiloh-Nevin: Ocular myopathy Klippel-Trenaunay: A rare condition of one extremity characterized by hypertrophy of bone and soft tissue Maisonneauve: Hyperextensibility of the hand, indicating a Colles' fracture Milkman (also called Looser-Milkman): Bone disease with transparent stripes of absorption in long and flat bones Naftziger: Condition of cervical muscle spasm secondary to intervertebral disk disease Quinquaud (decalvaris folliculitis): Inflammation of hair follicles, resulting in loss of hair, red scalp, and pustules around hair follicles Ramsay-Hunt (Herpes zoster oticus): Shingles infection affecting the facial nerve close to the ear Schwartz-Jampel: Genetic disorder causing myotonia Usher: Condition that affects both hearing and vision, with hearing loss and progressive loss of vision Von Graefe: An immobility or lagging of upper eyelid, seen in Graves’ disease Weber-Christian: Condition characterized by recurrent subcutaneous nodules that heal with depression of the overlying skin

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

When it comes to determining the root meaning of a medical term, you can often break down the word into its useful parts, prefixes and suffixes, to make sense of the word. But sometimes the etymology of the term can’t be broken down because it is actually named for a real, live human being. What then? Well, get out your flash cards so you can start memorizing! Here are some tongue-twisting terms that can’t be broken down by prefix or suffix: Birch-Hirschfeld: To correct entropion (infolding of the margin of the eyelid) Blalock-Hanlon: A form of heart surgery, an intentional creation of a septal defect in order to allow flow of oxygenated blood Fanconi: Disorder of kidney tubules; substances normally absorbed into the bloodstream by the kidneys are released into the urine instead Kernig: Thigh is bent at the hip and knee, with subsequent extension the knee is painful, indicating subarchnoid hemorrhage or meningitis Libman-Sacks: A form of nonbacterial endocarditis, seen in patients with systemic lupus Mounier-Kuhn: Enlargement of trachea and bronchi (tracheobronchomegaly) Nikolsky: Exfoliation of outer layer of skin with blister formation resulting from slight rubbing of skin Ramstedt: Procedure to correct congenital stenosis of the pylorus Trendelenburg: Waddling gait due to paralysis of gluteal muscles Waardenburg: Rare genetic disorder characterized by varying degrees of deafness Wartenberg: Reduction or absence of pendulum movements of arm when walking Zahradnicek: Procedure to correct congenital dislocation of the hip in children Zancolli Lasso: Tendon transfer to correct claw deformity of the fingers

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Medical terminology is chock-full of words that defy expectation, both in terms of meaning and pronunciation. There are as many tongue-twisting names in terminology as there are bones in the skeletal system. In other words, a lot. From the top of your cranium to the bottoms of your feet, there is a sign, symptom, or syndrome named for practically every physician in the phone book, and it would seem, practically every one of them hard to pronounce. Here are the top ten medical terminology tongue-twisters: Brockenbrough: A decrease in pulse pressure seen in patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy Chilaiditi: In radiology, indicates interposition of bowel gas (usually hepatic flexure) between liver and hemidiaphragm Duroziez: An audible murmur that can be heard over the femoral artery, a sign of aortic insufficiency Karplus: Modified voice resonance with a pleural effusion, the vowel U spoken by the patient is heard as an A Lutembacher: A combination of mitral stenosis with atrial septal defect Maugeri: Cardiac and pulmonary symptoms causes by silicate exposure (silicotic mediastinopathy) Megacystis-megaureter: Presence of massive primary nonobstructing reflux with a large smooth, thin-walled bladder due to continued recycling of refluxed urine Moebius: Inability to keep the eyeballs converged, a sign of exophthalmic goiter Nonnenbruch (Extrarenal kidney): Resulting in oliguria Stellwag: Infrequent or incomplete blinking, present in Graves’ orbitopathy