Medical Terminology
Core concepts
Build words from roots, prefixes, and suffixes. Common roots: cardi (heart), hepat (liver), nephr (kidney), gastr (stomach), derm (skin), oste (bone), neur (nerve), pulmon (lung), hem/hemat (blood). Common prefixes: hyper/hypo, tachy/brady, pre/post, intra/inter, sub, a/an (without), dys (difficult/painful). Common suffixes: -itis (inflammation), -ectomy (removal), -otomy (incision), -ostomy (opening), -ology (study of), -pathy (disease), -emia (blood condition), -uria (urine condition), -algia (pain), -megaly (enlargement). Learn abbreviations used in charting, such as BP, HR, NPO, PRN, PO, IM, SubQ, qid, bid, tid, stat, and H&P.
Traps in questions
- -ectomy vs. -otomy vs. -ostomy: removal vs. incision vs. creating an opening - frequently confused.
- Hyper vs. hypo: hyper = high/excess; hypo = low/deficient.
- Tachy vs. brady: tachy = fast; brady = slow.
- Prefix placement: 'subcutaneous' means under the skin, not within it (that is intradermal).
- Abbreviation ambiguity: 'qid' is four times daily, 'qd' once daily; some facilities avoid 'qd' due to misreading, but exams still test it.
- Plural forms: '-a' to '-ae' (vertebra to vertebrae), '-is' to '-es' (diagnosis to diagnoses).
Rule of thumb
Break an unfamiliar term into prefix + root + suffix, define each piece, then combine. For example, 'gastrectomy' = gastr (stomach) + -ectomy (removal) = removal of the stomach.
Worked example
Stem: 'What does the term nephrolithiasis mean?' nephr (kidney) + lith (stone) + -iasis (condition) = the presence of kidney stones. Deconstruct before choosing an answer.