Prefixes, Suffixes, and Combining Forms
Prefixes
Prefixes modify meaning rather than name a structure. Learn them in families: position and direction (ab- away, ad- toward, ante- before, post- after, inter- between, intra- within, sub- below, supra- above, retro- behind, peri- around); negation (a-, an-, anti-, contra-, in-, im-); number (mono-, uni-, bi-, tri-, hemi-, multi-, poly-); size and degree (macro-, micro-, oligo-, pan-, hyper-, hypo-); and rate (brady-, tachy-). A prefix changes meaning, never part of speech.
Suffixes
Suffixes carry the grammar. Surgical suffixes: -ectomy (removal), -otomy (incision), -ostomy (creating an opening), -plasty (repair), -pexy (fixation), -rrhaphy (suture), -tripsy (crushing), -centesis (puncture). Diagnostic: -scopy, -graphy, -gram, -metry, -opsy. Pathological: -itis, -algia, -dynia, -megaly, -malacia, -sclerosis, -stenosis, -oma, -cele, -ptosis, -rrhea, -rrhage. Adjectival: -ac, -al, -ar, -ic, -ous.
Traps
Questions love confusable pairs: -otomy vs -ostomy vs -ectomy; -rrhaphy (suture) vs -rrhagia (profuse flow) vs -rrhea (discharge); -ptosis (droop) vs -ptysis (spitting); inter- vs intra-; ante- vs anti-; hypo- vs hyper-. Note that -cele is a hernia or swelling, while -cyte is a cell.
Worked example
Attach three suffixes to col/o (colon): colotomy is an incision into the colon; colostomy is a surgically created opening of the colon through the abdominal wall; colectomy is removal of all or part of the colon. Say each aloud - the suffix, not the root, tells you what was done.