Common Suffixes • CHAPTER 1 21Suffix Term Meaning
-toxic hepat/o/toxic
poison HĔP-ă-tō-tŏk-sĭk
hepat/o: liver
-trophy dys/trophy
nourishment, development DĬS-trō-fē
dys-: bad; painful; difficultPronunciation Help Long sound a ̄in ra ̄te e ̄in re ̄birth ı ̄in ı ̄sle o ̄in o ̄ver u ̄in u ̄nite
Short sound a ̆in a ̆lone e ̆in e ̆ver ̆ıin ı ̆t o ̆in no ̆t u ̆in cu ̆t*The ein chol/e/lithiasisand chol/e/lithis an exception to the rule of using the connecting vowel o.
Competency Verification:Check your answers in Appendix B: Answer Key, page 560. If you are not satisfied with
your level of comprehension, review the pathological suffixes and their meanings.
Plural Suffixes
Because many medical words have Greek or Latin origins, there are a few unusual rules you need to learn to change a
singular word into its plural form. When you begin learning these rules, you will find that they are easy to apply. You
will also find that some English word endings have been adopted for commonly used medical terms. When a word
changes from a singular to a plural form, the suffix of the word is the part that changes. A summary of the rules for
changing a singular word into its plural form is located opposite the inside back cover of this book. Use it to complete
Section Review 1–2 below and whenever you need help forming plural words.
Visit the Medical Terminology Simplifiedonline resource center at DavisPlus for an
audio exercise of the terms in the Word Elements tables. It will help you master
pronunciations and meanings of the medical terms.