538 Prefixes, Combining Word Roots, and Suffixes Used in Medical Terminology-megalyenlargement (splenomegaly: enlargement of the
spleen)
-metera measuring instrument (spirometer: an instrument
to measure pulmonary volumes)-nessstate of, quality (illness: state of being ill)-oidthe appearance of (ovoid: resembling an oval or egg)
-olesmall, little (arteriole: small artery)
-omatumor (carcinoma: malignant tumor)
-opiaeye (hyperopia: farsightedness)
-orypertaining to (regulatory: pertaining to regulation)
-osehaving qualities of (comatose: having qualities of a
coma)
-osisstate, condition, action, process (keratosis: abnormal
growth of the skin)
-ostomycreation of an opening (colostomy: creation of an
opening between the intestine and the abdominal wall)
-otomycut into (tracheotomy: cut into the trachea)
-ouspertaining to (nervous: pertaining to nerves)-pathydisease (retinopathy: disease of the retina)
-penialack of, deficiency (leukopenia: lack of white blood
cells)
-philialove of, tendency (hemophilia: a clotting disorder;
“love of blood”)
-phobiaan abnormal fear (acrophobia: fear of heights)
-plasiagrowth (hyperplasia: excessive growth)
-plastyformation, repair (rhinoplasty: plastic surgery on the
nose)
-plegiaparalysis (hemiplegia: paralysis of the right or left
half of the body)-poiesisproduction (erythropoiesis: production of red blood
cells)
-ptosisdropping, falling (hysteroptosis: falling of the uterus)-rrhageburst forth (hemorrhage: loss of blood from blood
vessels)
-rrheadischarge, flow (diarrhea: frequent discharge of feces)-scopeinstrument to examine (microscope: instrument to
examine small objects)
-spasminvoluntary contraction (blepharospasm: twitch of
the eyelid)
-stasisto be still, control, stop (hemostasis: to stop loss of
blood)
-stheniastrength (myasthenia: loss of muscle strength)
-stomysurgical opening (colostomy: a surgical opening in
the colon)-taxiamuscle coordination (ataxia: loss of coordination)
-tensionpressure (hypertension: high blood pressure)
-ticpertaining to (paralytic: pertaining to paralysis)
-tomyincision, cut into (phlebotomy: incision into a vein)
-tripsycrush (lithotripsy: crushing of stone such as gall-
stones)
-trophicrelated to nutrition or growth (autotrophic: capa-
ble of making its own food, such as a green plant)
-tropic turning toward (chemotropic: turning toward a
chemical)-ula, -ulesmall, little (venule: small vein)
-uriaurine (hematuria: blood in the urine)-ycondition, process (healthy: condition of health)28Scanlon(p3) App-F 8/17/06 11:07 AM Page 538