CARDIOVASCULAR AND LYMPHATIC
SYSTEMS CHAPTER REVIEW
WORD ELEMENTS SUMMARY
The following table summarizes CFs, suffixes, and prefixes related to the cardiovascular and lymphatic systems.
Study the word elements and their meanings before completing the Word Elements Chapter Review that follows.
208 CHAPTER 5• Cardiovascular and Lymphatic Systems
Word Element Meaning Word Element Meaning
Combining Forms
aden/o gland lymph/o lymph
aneurysm/o a widening, a widened blood vessel my/o muscle
angi/o vessel (usually blood or lymph) necr/o death, necrosis
aort/o aorta phleb/o, ven/o vein
arteri/o artery rrhythm/o rhythm
ather/o fatty plaque sarc/o flesh (connective tissue)
atri/o atrium scler/o hardening; sclera (white of the eye)
cardi/o, coron/o heart thromb/o blood clot
cerebr/o cerebrum varic/o dilated vein
embol/o embolus (plug) vas/o vessel; vas deferens; duct
hem/o blood vascul/o vessel
isch/o to hold back: block ventricul/o ventricle (of the heart or brain)
Suffixes
-al, -ic, -ary pertaining to, relating to -pathy disease
-cardia heart condition -phagia swallowing, eating
-cyte cell -phobia fear
-ectasis dilation, expansion -phylaxis protection
-ectomy excision, removal -plasty surgical repair
-emia blood -pnea breathing
-genesis forming, producing, origin -poiesis formation, production
-gram record, writing -rrhaphy suture
-graphy process of recording -rrhexis rupture
-ia condition -spasm involuntary contraction, twitching
-lith stone, calculus -stenosis narrowing, stricture
-lysis separation; destruction; loosening -tension to stretch
-malacia softening -therapy treatment
-megaly enlargement -tomy incision
-oid resembling -um structure, thing
-ole, -ule small, minute -us condition, structure