Chapter Four

Medical Terminology

Overview
Medical Terminology specific vocabulary of scientific and technical terms that allows healthcare professionals to speak and write more effectively and precisely To determine meaning of a word, start with the suffix, then

go to the prefix, and identify the meaning of the word

root(s) last.

Modern medicine was founded by the Greeks and influence

by Latin. Newer terms have English origin.

Word Roots
Word Roots subject of a medical term and foundation upon which the term is built Meaning of medical term is established by analyzing other word elements that are attached to the word root Word Roots usually indicate a tissue, organ, body system, color, condition, substance or structure (Phleb= vein) Some medical terms have more than one root. Some roots have definitions in both Greek and Latin (ped Latin for foot, and Greek for child) See table 4-1 page 109

 A Prefix is a word element that:

Comes before a root Modifies the meaning of the word root
By adding info (presence, absence, location, number, etc.)

Prefixes

 A Suffix is a word element that:

Comes after a word root Modifies the meaning of the word root
By changing or adding info )presence, absence, location, number, etc.)

Suffixes

Unique Plural Endings

The plural forms of some medical terms follow English rules, while other terms follow Greek or Latin rules.

Pronunciation

Joint Commissions Do Not Use List

Do not Use list was created by the Joint Commission to: Reduce the number of medical errors related to incorrect interpretation of terminology Consists of dangerous abbreviations, symbols, and acronyms Applies to every institution accredited by them Applies to all orders of medication-related documents that are hand-written, entered on computer, or written on preprinted forms, handwritten laboratory reports Does not apply to printed and electronic laboratory reports
Laboratories are exempt from the ban of trailing zeros as well.

Do Not Use List

Report in 1999 stated that 44000 96000 deaths/year were attributed to medical errors.

 If given a word, be able to identify which part is a suffix, a word root, and a prefix and know what a combining vowel is, and what the combining form is. Example:
Gastroenterology Gastr word root (o is combining vowel) Enter word root (o is combining vowel) Logy - suffix