Medical Terminology Simplified

1–46 A dent/istis a specialist in teeth. Dent/almeans pertaining to teeth.Simply

changing the suffix gives the word a new meaning.

The suffix in dent/istis __________. It means specialist.

The suffix in dent/alis __________. It means pertaining to.

A combining form (root + o) links a suffix that begins with a consonant.

1–47 Change the following roots to combining forms and link them with suffixes

that begin with a consonant. Then practice pronouncing the terms aloud by referring

to the pronunciations in the left-hand answer column.

Word Root Suffix Medical Term

scler -derma becomes __________ / _____ / __________

mast -dynia becomes __________ / _____ / __________

arthr -plasty becomes __________ / _____ / __________

1–48 Throughout the book, whenever a suffix stands alone, it will be preceded by

a hyphen, as in -oma (tumor).The hyphen indicates that another element is needed

to transform the suffix into a complete word.

A suffix that stands alone will be preceded by a ____________________.

Pronouncing medical words correctly is crucial, because mispronunciations can result in incorrect medical inter-

pretations and treatments. In addition, misspelled terms in a medical report may become a legal issue. Learning

how to pronounce and spell medical terms is a matter of practice. To familiarize yourself with medical words,

make it a habit to pronounce a word aloud each time you see the pronunciation listed in the answer column.

1–49 Underline the suffixes in the following words:

dent/ist

arthr/o/centesis

neur/algia

angi/oma

gastr/ic

nephr/itis

scler/o/derma

Frame 1–41to Frame 1–49

Word Elements • CHAPTER 1 9

-ist

-al

scler/o/derma

sklĕr- ō-DĔR-mă

mast/o/dynia

măst-ō-DĬN-ē-ă

arthr/o/plasty

ĂR-thrō-plăs-tē

hyphen

dent/ist

DĔN-tĭst

arthr/o/centesis

ăr-thrō-sĕn-TĒ-sĭs

neur/algia

nū-RĂL-jē-ă

angi/oma

ăn-jē-Ō-mă

gastr/ic

GĂS-trĭk

nephr/itis

nĕf-RĪ-tĭs

scler/o/derma

sklĕr-ō-DĔR-mă

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