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.

The urinary system is made up of the kidneys (you have two), ureters (also two), bladder, and urethra (one). This system’s main function is to remove urea, the waste product of metabolism, from the bloodstream and excrete the urea (in the urine) from the body.So, how does that big steak dinner you ate last night turn into the next morning’s output in the form of urine?

Your skin (the body’s largest organ), glands, nails, and hair — also known as the integumentary system — serve as the “public face” of your body. Consider it your marketing team, letting the world know by their condition how healthy the rest of your body is. Healthy skin, along with accessory organs glands, hair, and nails, are the hallmarks of healthy insides, so care for them accordingly.

Body parts and their accompanying medical terms don’t make a whole lot of sense until you can put them in the context of their general location within the body. Your body can be defined in several different ways, from groups and regions to cavities and planes.Body regions are used to specifically identify a body area.

The musculoskeletal system is made up of muscles and joints. The muscles — all 600 of them and more — are responsible for movement. The skeleton provides attachment points and support for muscles, but it’s the muscle tissue’s ability to extend and contract that makes movement happen. So, for every climb of the elliptical machine, you can thank muscular tissue for making it possible.

Although bones, muscles, joints, ligaments, and tendons all work together, they each have a special job. Bones provide the framework for your body but ligaments and tendons provide the attachments for muscles to contract and relax.Bones store mineral salts, and the inner core of a bone is composed of hematopoietic (blood cell–forming) red bone marrow.

The makeup of the male reproductive system, with all its tubes, ducts, and medical terms can be complicated and subject to several types of conditions. Make sure you’re familiar with the vocabulary. Pathological male reproductive conditions Here are some of the pathological conditions associated with the male reproductive system: Adenocarcinoma of the prostate: Malignant tumor of the prostate; second most common cause of cancer deaths in men over 50; radical (complete) prostatectomy along with radiation and chemotherapy is the most common treatment Andropathy: Diseases of the male Anorchism: The state of absence of a testicle, one or both Aspermia: Condition of absence of sperm Balanocele: Protrusion of glans penis (through rupture of prepuce) Balanitis: Inflammation of glans penis Balanorrhea: Excessive discharge from the glans penis, often the first symptom of a sexually transmitted disease BPH (benign prostatic hypertrophy/hyperplasia): Enlargement or excessive development of prostate gland in males over 60 years of age, can cause a urinary obstruction with inability to empty the bladder completely or all at once; surgical treatment is prostatectomy Cryptorchidism: Undescended testicle (crypt meaning “hidden”); two months before birth, testicles should descend into scrotal sac Epididymitis: Inflammation of the epididymis Epispadias: Congenital (present at birth) opening of the male urethra on the upper surface of penis Erectile dysfunction: Inability of male to attain or maintain an erection to perform sexual intercourse Hydrocele: Hernia or sac of fluid in the testis or in the tube leading from the testis, can occur in infancy and usually resolves during the first year of life Hypospadias: Congenital opening of the male urethra on the undersurface of the penis (present at birth) Impotence: Lack of power to obtain erection or to copulate Oligospermia: Condition of scanty sperm (in seminal fluid) Orchitis/orchiditis: Inflammation of testes or a testis Phimosis: Narrowing of the opening of the foreskin over the glans penis that does not allow the foreskin to retract, obstructing urination and causing secretions to accumulate under the prepuce, leading to infection Priapism: Prolonged abnormal erection of penis with pain and tenderness Prostatitis: Inflammation of the prostate gland Prostatocystitis: Inflammation of prostate gland and bladder Prostatolith: Stone in the prostate Prostatorrhea: Excessive discharge from the prostate Testicular carcinoma: Malignant tumor of the testis, classified according to type of tissue involved; examples: seminoma, embryonal carcinoma, and teratocarcinoma (a malignant teratoma); commonly treated with surgery: orchidectomy, radiation, and chemotherapy Testicular torsion: Twisting of spermatic cord causing decreased blood flow to testicle; occurs most often during puberty; considered a surgical emergency Varicocele: Large, herniated, swollen veins near the testis, associated with oligospermia (lower than normal amount of sperm) and infertility Male reproductive diseases and pathology Unfortunately, some of the most common diseases of the male reproductive system are the kind that make headlines, and not in a good way.