Medical Terminology Simplified

1–68 Whenever a prefix stands alone, it is identified with a hyphen after it, as in

hyper-.When it is part of a word, the prefix is not highlighted, but a slash separates it

from the next element, as in hyper/tension.

Analyze hyper/insulin/ism by identifying the elements.

hyper-is a ____________________.

insulinis a __________.

-ismis a ____________________.

1–69 Hypo-, intra-, super-,and homo-are examples of word elements called

____________________.

1–70 Pre/operative designates the time before a surgery. By changing the prefix,

you alter the meaning of the word. Build a word that designates the time after

surgery. __________ / ____________________.

Can you remember what post-in post/operativemeans? _______________

1–71 You will recognize many prefixes in medical terms because they are the

same ones found in the English language. In the term post/mortem,the prefix is

__________ and means _______________.

Post/mortemmeans _______________ death.

1–72 In the term pre/mature, the prefix is __________ and means ___________.

Pre/maturemeans _______________ maturity.

Defining Medical Words

When defining a medical word, first define the suffix. Second, define the beginning of the word; finally, define the
middle of the word. Here is an example using the term osteoarthritis.

oste/o/arthr/itis

(2) (3) (1)

1. Define the suffix first: -itismeans inflammation.


2. Define the beginning of the word: oste/omeans bone.


3. Define the middle of the word: arthrmeans joint.
   Therefore, oste/o/arthr/itisis an inflammation of the bone and joint.

1–73 The element that is defined first is the ____________________.

The element that is defined next is the ____________________ of the word.

The middle or rest of the word is defined ______________.

14 CHAPTER 1• Introduction to Programmed Learning and Medical Word Building

prefix

root

suffix

post/operative

pōst-ŎP-ĕr-ă-tĭv

after

post-, after

after

pre-, before

before

suffix

beginning

last

prefixes