Medical Terminology Simplified

6–159 Locate the gallbladder, also known as cholecyst, in Figure 6–6. This

pouchlike structure stores bile, which is produced by the liver.

Cholecyst is the medical name for ____________________.

6–160 Inflammation of the gallbladder may be caused by the presence of

gallstones. The Dx inflammation of the gallbladderis charted as

____________________ / __________.

6–161 A chole/lith is a ____________________.

6–162 The pancreat/ic duct transports pancreatic juices to the duodenum to

help the digestive process. A pancreat/o/lith is a ____________________, or

____________________, within the pancreas.

6–163 The suffixes -osisand -iasisare used to indicate an abnormal or diseased

condition. The difference between the two is that -osisis used to denote a disorder

but does not indicate the specific cause of the abnormality. In contrast, -iasisis at-

tached to a word root to identify an abnormal condition produced by something that

is specified.*

For example, lith/iasis is an abnormal condition produced by a

____________________, or ____________________.

6–164 Hepat/osis is an abnormal or diseased condition of the__________.

The cause of the abnormality is not specified and could be the result of any number

of liver diseases.

6–165 When forming a word that means abnormal condition of stones, or calculi,

use -iasisbecause the abnormal condition is produced by something specified.* In

this case, it is produced by the stones.

Use -iasisto construct medical words that mean

abnormal condition of stones:__________ / __________

pancreat/ic stones:____________________ / _____ / __________ / __________

6–166 Chol/e/lith/iasis is common in obese women over age 40. (See Fig. 6–7.)

A patient with a Dx of an abnormal or diseased condition of gallstones suffers from

__________ / _____ / __________ / __________.

In some instances, you will find that -osisand -iasisare interchangeable. Whenever you are in doubt about

which suffix to use, refer to your medical dictionary.

Boldfaceindicates a word root or combining form. Blueindicates a suffix. Pinkindicates a prefix.

250 CHAPTER 6• Digestive System

gallbladder

cholecyst/itis

kō-lē-sĭs-TĬ-tĭs

stone, calculus

KĂL-kū-lŭs

gallstone

stone, calculus

KĂL-kū-lŭs

liver

lith/iasis

lĭth-Ī-ă-sĭs

pancreat/o/lith/iasis

păn-krē-ă-tō-lĭ-THĪ-ă-sĭs

chol/e/lith/iasis

kō-lē-lĭ-THĪ-ă-sĭs

!

*There are a few exceptions to this rule.