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1.2: Prefixes and Suffixes

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    Learning Objectives

    • Understand the difference between a prefix and a suffix.
    • Differentiate prefixes that deal with body parts, color, and direction.
    • Distinguish suffixes that deal with procedures.

    Prefixes

    Prefixes are located at the beginning of a medical term. The prefix alters the meaning of the medical term. It is important to spell and pronounce prefixes correctly.

    Many prefixes that you find in medical terms are common to English language prefixes. A good technique to help with memorization is the following:

    • Start by reviewing the most common prefixes.
    • Consider common English language words that begin with the same prefixes.
    • Compare them to the examples of use in medical terms.

    Common Prefixes

    PREFIX MEANING EXAMPLE OF USE IN MEDICAL TERMS
    A-, An- Without; Lacking Anemia
    Andr/o- Male Androgen
    Anti- Against Anticholinergic drugs
    Auto- Self Autocrine
    Bio- Life Biology
    Chem/o- Chemistry Chemotherapy
    Contra- Against Contraception
    Cyt/o- Cell Cytokine
    Dis- Separation; Taking apart Dissection
    Dys- Difficult; Abnormal Dyspnea
    Eu- Good; Well Eupnea
    Fibr/o- Fiber Fibrosis
    Gluco-, Glyco- Glucose; Sugar Glycogen
    Gyn/o-, Gynec- Female Gynecology
    Hydr/o- Water Hydrocephalus
    Idio- Self; One’s own Idiopathic
    Lyso-, Lys- Break down; Destruction; Dissolving Lysosome
    Mal- Bad; Abnormal Malignant
    Myc/o- Fungus Mycetoma
    Necr/o- Death Necrosis
    Neo- New Neonate
    Oxy- Sharp; Acute; Oxygen Oxytocin
    Pan-, Pant/o- All or everywhere Pancytopenia
    Pharmaco- Drug; Medicine Pharmacist
    Re- Again; Backward Rejuvenation
    Somat/o-, Somatico- Body; Bodily Somatic cell

    Body Part Prefixes

    PREFIX MEANING EXAMPLE OF USE IN MEDICAL TERMS
    Acous/o- Hearing Acoustic meatus
    Aden/o- Gland Adenoid
    Adip/o- Fat Adipocyte
    Adren/o- Gland Adrenal cortex
    Angi/o- Blood vessel Angioplasty
    Arteri/o- Artery Arteriole
    Arthr/o- Joint Arthroplasty
    Bucc/o- Cheek Buccal cavity
    Bronch/i- Bronchus Bronchioles
    Burs/o- Bursa Bursa
    Carcin/o- Cancer Basal cell carcinoma
    Cardi/o- Heart Cardiology
    Cephal/o- Head Cephalic flexure
    Chol- Bile Cholesterol
    Chondri- Cartilage Chondrosarcoma
    Coron- Heart Coronary arteries
    Cost- Rib Costal cartilage
    Crani/o- Brain Cranium
    Cutane- Skin Cutaneous
    Cyst/o-, Cysti- Bladder or sac Cystoscopy
    Derm-, Dermat/o- Skin Dermatologist
    Duoden/o- Duodenum Duodenitis
    Gastr- Stomach Gastrectomy
    Gloss- Tongue Glossectomy
    Hem-, Hema-, Hemat-, Hemo-, Hemat/o- Blood Hematopoiesis
    Hepat/o-, Hepatico- Liver Hepatic portal system
    Hist/o-, Histio- Tissue Histology
    Hyster/o- Uterus Hysterectomy
    Ileo- Ileum Ileostomy
    Ischi/o- Ischium Ischial tuberosity
    Kerat/o- Corena (eye or skin) Keratin
    Lacrim/o- Tear (from your eyes) Lacrimal fluid
    Lact/o-, Lacti- Milk Lactose
    Laryng/o- Larynx Laryngitis
    Lingu/o- Tongue Lingual tonsil
    Lip/o- Fat Lipolysis
    Lymph/o- Lymph Lymphocyte
    Mamm-, Mast/o- Breast Mammary glands
    Mening/o- Meninges Meningitis
    Muscul/o- Muscle Musculoskeletal
    My/o- Muscle Myocardium
    Myel/o- Spinal cord or bone marrow Myelin
    Nephr/o- Kidney Nephron
    Neur/i-, Neur/o- Nerve Neuron
    Oculo- Eye Oculomotor nerve
    Onco- Tumor; Bulk; Volume Oncogene
    Onych/o- Fingernail; Toenail Onychodystrophy
    Oo- Egg; Ovary Oocyte
    Oophor/o- Ovary Oophorectomy
    Op-, Opt- Vision Optic nerve
    Ophthalm/o- Eye Ophthalmic artery
    Orchid/o-, Orchio- Testis Orchidectomy
    Orth/o- Straight; Normal; Correct Orthostatic
    Osseo- Bony Osseous tissue
    Ossi- Bone Ossicles
    Ost-, Oste/o- Bone Osteoporosis
    Ot/o- Ear Otolaryngologist
    Ovar/i-, Ovario-, Ovi-, Ovo- Ovary Ovarian follicle
    Phalang- Phalanx Phalanges
    Pharyng/o- Pharynx; Throat Pharyngeal tonsil
    Phleb/o- Vein Phlebotomist
    Phren/i-, Phreno-, Phrenico- Diaphragm Phrenic nerve
    Pleur-, Pleur/a-, Pleur/o- Rib, pleura Pleural cavity
    Pneum/a- Pneumat/o- Air; Lung Pneumonia
    Proct/o- Anus; Rectum Proctoscopy
    Prostat- Prostate Prostatectomy
    Pseudo- False Pseudostratified
    Psych/o-, Psyche- Mind Psychiatrist
    Radio- Radiation; Radius Radioisotopes
    Ren/o- Kidney Renal cortex
    Retin- Retina (of the eye) Retinitis pigmentosa
    Rhin/o- Nose Rhinoscope
    Salping/o- Tube Salpingo-oophorectomy
    Sarco- Muscular; Flesh-like Sarcomere
    Schiz/o- Split; Cleft Schizophrenia
    Sclera-, Sclero- Hardness Sclerosis
    Sigmoid/o- Sigmoid colon Sigmoidoscopy
    Sperma-, Spermo-, Spermato- Sperm Spermatocyte
    Splen/o- Spleen Splenomegaly
    Sten/o- Narrowed; Blocked Stenosis
    Stern- Sternum Sternoclavicular joint
    Stom/a-, Stomat/o- Mouth Stomatitis
    Thorac/o-, Thoracico- Chest Thoracic cavity
    Thromb/o- Blood clot Thrombolytic
    Thyr/o- Thyroid gland Thyroiditis
    Trache/o- Trachea Trachealis
    Tympan/o- Eardrum Tympanic membrane
    Ur/o- Urine Urologist
    Vagin- Vagina Vaginal
    Varic/o- Duct; Blood vessel Varicose veins
    Vasculo- Blood vessel Vasculitis
    Ven/o- Vein Venae cavae
    Vertbr- Vertebra; Spine Vertebral column

    Color Prefixes

    PREFIX MEANING EXAMPLE OF USE IN MEDICAL TERMS
    Chlor/o- Green Chlorophyll
    Chrom-, Chromato- Color Chromosome
    Cyano- Blue Cyanosis
    Erythr/o- Red Erythrocyte
    Leuk/o- White Leukocyte
    Melan/o- Black Melanin

    Physical Property and Shape Prefixes

    PREFIX MEANING EXAMPLE OF USE IN MEDICAL TERMS
    Cry/o- Cold Cryotherapy
    Elect- Electrical activity Electrocardiogram
    Kin/o-, Kine-, Kinesi/o- Movement Kinetic energy
    Kyphy/o- Humped Kyphosis
    Rhabd/o- Rod-shaped; Striated Rhabdomyosarcoma
    Phot/o- Light Photoreceptor
    Reticul/o- Net Reticulocytes
    Scoli/o- Twisted Scoliosis
    Therm/o- Heat Thermotherapy

    Direction and Position Prefixes

    PREFIX MEANING EXAMPLE OF USE IN MEDICAL TERMS
    Ab-, Abs- Away from Abductor
    Ad- Towards Adductor
    Ante- Before; Forward Antenatal
    Circum- Around Circumcision
    Cycl- Circle; Cycle Cyclic neutropenia
    De- Away from; Ending Dehydration
    Dia- Across; Through Diagnosis
    Ect/o-, Exo- Outer; Outside Exocrine gland
    End/o-, Ent-, Enter/o- Within; Inner Endocrine gland
    Epi- Upon; Outside of Epidermis
    Ex-, Extra- Beyond Expiration
    Infra- Beneath; Below Infratemporal fossa
    Inter- Between Interstitial fluid
    Intra- Within Intracellular fluid
    Meso- Middle Mesoderm
    Meta- Beyond; Change Metabolism
    Para- Alongside; Abnormal Parathyroid glands
    Path/o- Disease Pathologist
    Peri- Around Pericardium
    Post- Behind; After Postpartum
    Pre- Before; In front Precancerous
    Retro- Backward; Behind Retroperitoneum
    Sub- Under Subcutaneous layer
    Super- Above Superior
    Supra- Above; Upon Supraglottis
    Sy-, Syl-, Sym-, Syn-, Sys- Together Syndrome
    Trans- Across; Through Transdermal

    Quantity Prefixes

    PREFIX MEANING EXAMPLE OF USE IN MEDICAL TERMS
    Bi- Two Biceps
    Brady- Slow Bradycardia
    Diplo- Double Diploid
    Hemi- Half Hemihypertrophy
    Hetero- Other; Different Heterogeneous
    Homo- Same Homozygous genotype
    Hyper- Above; Beyond; Excessive Hypertension
    Hypo- Under; Deficient Hypotension
    Iso- Equal; Like Isointense
    Macro- Large; Long; Big Macrophage
    Mic-, Micro- Small Microglia
    Mon-, Mono- One Monocyte
    Olig/o- Few; Little Oliguria
    Poly- Many; Excessive Polyuria
    Quadri- Four Quadriceps
    Semi- Half Semilunar valves
    Tachy- Fast Tachycardia
    Tetra- Four Tetralogy of Fallot
    Tri- Three Triceps
    Uni- One Unicellular

    Concept Check

    • Do you know the difference between the prefixes inter-, infra-, and intra-?
    • What color is an erythrocyte? A leukocyte?
    • Which prefixes could you use to indicate something is:
      • around something else?
      • within something else?
      • below something else?

    Suffixes

    Suffixes are word parts that are located at the end of words. Suffixes can alter the meaning of medical terms. It is important to spell and pronounce suffixes correctly.

    Suffixes in medical terms are common to English language suffixes. Suffixes are not always explicitly stated in the definition of a word. It is common that suffixes will not be explicitly stated when defining a medical term in the workplace. However, when transcribing or reading medical reports the suffix is always clearly written. In order to properly spell and pronounce medical terms, it is helpful to learn the suffixes.

    Common Suffixes

    SUFFIX MEANING EXAMPLE OF USE IN MEDICAL TERMS
    -ac Pertaining to Cardiac
    -blast, -blasto, -blastic Bud; Germ Myeloblast
    -cyte, -cytic Cell Thrombocyte
    -dynia Pain; Swelling Thoracodynia
    -eal, -ial Pertaining to Esophageal
    -ectasis Expansion; Dilation Atelectasis
    -emia Blood condition Anemia
    -ia Condition Hemophilia
    -iasis Condition; Formation of Psoriasis
    -ism Condition Hypothyroidism
    -ites, -itis Inflammation Arthritis
    -ity Pertaining to Immunity
    -ium Structure or tissue Epithelium
    -lysis, -lytic Break down; Destruction; Dissolving Osteolytic
    -malacia Softening Osteomalacia
    -megaly Enlargement Acromegaly
    -oid Resembling Arachnoid trabeculae
    -oma Tumor Angiosarcoma
    -osis Condition; Usually abnormal Endometriosis
    -ous Pertaining to Aqueous
    -pathy Disease Lymphadenopathy
    -penia Deficiency; Lack of Thrombocytopenia
    -phagia, -phagy Eating; Swallowing Dysphagia
    -phasia Speech Aphasia
    -plasia, -plastic Growth Hyperplasia
    -plegia Paralysis Hemiplegia
    -pnea Breathing Sleep apnea
    -poiesis Production Hemopoiesis
    -ptosis Falling; Drooping Apoptosis
    -rrhage, -rrhagic Bleeding Hemorrhage
    -rrhea Flow or discharge Diarrhea
    -sclerosis Hardening Arteriosclerosis
    -sis Condition Agranulocytosis
    -stasis Level; Unchanging Homeostasis
    -trophy Growth Hypertrophy
    -uria In the urine Anuria

    Procedure Suffixes

    SUFFIX MEANING EXAMPLE OF USE IN MEDICAL TERMS
    -centesis Surgical puncture to remove fluid Thoracentesis
    -desis Surgical binding Pleurodesis
    -ectomy Cut out; Removal Mastectomy
    -gram Record; Picture Electrocardiogram
    -graph Instrument used to create a record or picture Electrocardiograph
    -graphy To record or take a picture Echocardiography
    -meter Device used for measuring Sphygmomanometer
    -opsy Visual examination Biopsy
    -ostomy Opening Colostomy
    -otomy Incision Laparotomy
    -pexy Surgical fixation Oophoropexy
    -plasty Surgical reconstruction Vertebroplasty
    -scope For examining Endoscope
    -scopy Examine Endoscopy

    Concept Check

    • Do you know the difference between the suffixes -gram, -graph, and -graphy?
    • Which suffixes denote a condition or disease?

    Word parts and definitions from “Appendix A: Word Parts and What They Mean” by MedlinePlus and is under public domain.

    Definitions of medical term examples from:

    This page titled 1.2: Prefixes and Suffixes is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Andrea Nelson and Katherine Greene via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.