1.2: Medical Language Rules
Language Review
Before we begin analyzing the rules let’s complete a short language review that will assist with pronunciation and spelling. In class, you will practice pronunciation with your Instructor.
Short Vowels
a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y are indicated by lower case.
Long Vowels
A, E, I, O, U are indicated by upper case.
Consonants
Consonants are all of the other letters in the alphabet. b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, w, x, and z.
Language Rules for Building Medical Terms
- When combining two combining form s you keep the combining form vowel .
-
When combining a
combining form
with a
suffix
that begins with a consonant you
keep
the
combining form vowel
.
Gastr/o/enter/o/logy – The study of the stomach and the intestines
- Following rule 1, when we join combining form gastr/o (meaning stomach) with the combining form enter/o (meaning intestines) we keep the combining form vowel o.
- Following rule 2 , when we join the combining form enter/o (meaning intestines) with the suffix -logy (that starts with a suffix and means the study of) we keep the combining form vowel o.
- When combining a combining form with a suffix that begins with a vowel you drop the combining form vowel.
-
A
prefix
goes at the beginning of the word and
no
combining
form vowel
is used.
Intra/ven/ous – Pertaining to within the vein
- Following rule 3 , notice that when combining the combining form ven/o (meaning vein) with the suffix -ous ( that starts with a vowel and means pertaining to) we drop the combining form vowel o.
- Following rule 4 , the prefix intra- (meaning within) is at the beginning of the medical term with no combining form vowel used.
-
When defining a medical word, start with the suffix first and then work left to right stating the word parts. You may need to add
filler
words. As long as the
filler
word does not change the meaning of the word you may use it for the purpose of building a medical vocabulary. Once you start to apply the word in the context of a sentence it will be easier to decide which
filler
word(s) to choose.
Intra/ven/ous – Pertaining to within the vein or Pertaining to within a vein.
- Following rule 5 , notice that I start with the suffix -ous (that means pertaining to) then we work left to right starting with the prefix Intra- (meaning within) and the combining form ven/o (meaning vein).
- Notice that we have used two different definitions that mean the same thing.
- In these examples we do not have the context of a full sentence. For the purpose of building a medical terminology foundation either definition is accepted.