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1.3: Combining Forms

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    Combining forms are the combination of the root and the combining vowel. The root gives the essential meaning of the medical term. The combining vowel is usually an o but occasionally an i.

    The following tables go through some of the most common combining forms, their meaning, and an example of a medical term that uses the combining form. Illustrations, key concept textboxes, and review questions are included to help you better understand the combining forms. It is very important that you become familiar with all of them. Making flashcards and reviewing them daily is very important when learning a new language.

    Table 1.1. Combining Forms
    COMBINING FORM MEANING EXAMPLE OF USE IN MEDICAL TERMS
    abdomin/o abdomen abdominal
    aden/o gland adenoma
    amni/o amnion sac amniocentesis
    an/o anus anal
    append/o appendix appendectomy
    angi/o vessel angiogram
    arteri/o artery arteriosclerosis
    ather/o plaque atherosclerosis
    arthr/o joint arthritis
    axill/o armpit axillary
    bi/o life biology
    bronch/o bronchial tube bronchitis
    bronchi/o bronchial tube bronchiectasis
    carcin/o cancer carcinoma
    cardi/o heart cardiology
    carp/o wrist carpals
    cephal/o head cephalic
    cerebr/o cerebrum cerebrovascular accident
    normal knee and knee with osteoarthritis
    Figure 1.1

    Key Concept

    Figure 1.1 is an image of a normal knee and a knee that has osteoarthritis. If you break this term apart, it means “inflammation” (-itis) of the “bone” (oste/o) and “joint” (arthr/o). Note that the combining vowel is dropped because the suffix starts with a vowel.

    picture of the lobes of the cerebrum
    Figure 1.2

    Key Concept

    Figure 1.2 identifies the lobes of the cerebrum. If you break down this term, it means a “structure” (-um) surrounding the “cerebrum” (cerebr/o). Note that you drop the combining vowel because the suffix begins with a vowel.

    Exercises

    Table 1.2. Combining Forms
    COMBINING FORM MEANING EXAMPLE OF USE IN MEDICAL TERMS
    chem/o drug chemotherapy
    cholecyst/o gallbladder cholecystectomy
    chron/o time chronic
    col/o colon colitis
    cost/o ribs intercostal
    crani/o skull craniotomy
    cry/o cold cryotherapy
    cutane/o skin cutaneous
    cyst/o urinary bladder, sac with fluid cystoscope
    cyt/o cell cytology
    derm/o skin dermal
    dermat/o skin dermatology
    dur/o dura mater epidural
    electr/o electricity electrocardiogram
    encephal/o brain electroencephalogram
    enter/o intestine (usually small) enteritis
    erythr/o red erythrocyte
    esophag/o esophagus esophageal
    Figure 1.3
    different types of blood cells.
    Figure 1.4

    Key Concept

    An electroencephalogram (EEG) is a common diagnostic test that looks at the electrical activity of the brain. This term means “to record” (-gram) “electricity” (electr/o) in the “brain” (encephal/o). Figure 1.3 shows a patient getting an electroencephalogram.

    Figure 1.4 is an image of several different types of blood cells. The larger disc-shaped ones are erythrocytes (red blood cells), the round, fuzzy cells are leukocytes (white blood cells), and the tiny disc-shaped cells are thrombocytes (platelets). The term erythrocyte comes from the suffix -cyte, meaning “cell,” and the combining form erythr/o, meaning “red.” Literally, it means “cell that is red” or, more commonly, “red blood cell.”

    Exercises

    Table 1.3. Combining Forms
    COMBINING FORM MEANING EXAMPLE OF USE IN MEDICAL TERMS
    gastr/o stomach gastralgia
    glyc/o sugar hyperglycemia
    gnos/o knowledge diagnosis
    gynec/o women, female gynecology
    hem/o blood hemoglobin
    hemat/o blood hematology
    hepat/o liver hepatitis
    hyster/o uterus hysterectomy
    inguin/o groin inguinal
    isch/o to hold back ischemia
    lapar/o abdomen laparotomy
    laryng/o voice box laryngitis
    later/o side lateral
    leuk/o white leukocyte
    laparotomy
    Figure 1.5

    Key Concept

    A laparotomy scar is shown above in Figure 1.5. This term means “to cut” (-tomy) into the “abdomen” (lapar/o).

    Exercises

    Table 1.4. Combining Forms
    COMBINING FORM MEANING EXAMPLE OF USE IN MEDICAL TERMS
    mamm/o breast mammography
    mast/o breast mastectomy
    men/o menses menorrhea
    mening/o meninges meningitis
    my/o muscle myalgia
    myel/o spinal cord, bone marrow myeloma
    nat/i birth neonatal
    necr/o death necrosis
    nephr/o kidney nephritis
    neur/o nerve neuralgia
    onc/o tumour oncology
    oophor/o ovary oophorectomy
    ophthalm/o eye ophthalmoscopy
    oste/o bone osteoarthritis
    ot/o ear otalgia
    opthalmoscope
    Figure 1.6

    Key Concept

    Figure 1.6 is an image of an ophthalmoscope, an instrument used to view and assess the eye. The term means an “instrument” (­scope) to view the “eye” (ophthalm/o). In this term, you keep the combining vowel because the suffix starts with a consonant.

    Also, notice the combining form nat/i, meaning “birth,” in the table above. It is one of the few combining forms where the vowel is an i, not an o.

    Exercises

    Table 1.5. Combining Forms
    COMBINING FORM MEANING EXAMPLE OF USE IN MEDICAL TERMS
    path/o disease pathology
    pelv/o pelvis pelvic
    peritone/o peritoneum peritoneal
    phleb/o vein phlebitis
    plas/o formation, growth, development neoplastic
    pneumon/o lung pneumonitis
    psych/o mind psychosis
    pulmon/o lung pulmonary
    radi/o X-ray radiotherapy
    ren/o kidney renal
    rhin/o nose rhinorrhea
    salping/o fallopian tube salpingectomy
    sarc/o flesh sarcoma
    scapul/o shoulder blade subscapular
    septic/o infection septicemia
    son/o sound ultrasonography
    thorac/o chest thoracic

    Key Concept

    Septicemia means “blood infection,” or literally “blood condition,” from the suffix -emia, and the combining form septic/o, which means “infection.” Septicemia is one of the most serious infections you might see in patients. Depending on when it is identified and the type of infection, the mortality rate can be up to 50% (John Hopkins Medicine, 2022a).

    ultrasound
    Figure 1.7

    Key Concept

    Figure 1.7 is an image of a fetus created using ultrasonography. An ultrasound can be completed on many locations of the body for diagnostic purposes. The term ultrasonography means “process of recording” (-graphy) “beyond” (ultra-) “sound” (son/o).

    Exercises

    Table 1.6. Combining Forms
    COMBINING FORM MEANING EXAMPLE OF USE IN MEDICAL TERMS
    thyroid/o thyroid gland hyperthyroidism
    tonsill/o tonsil tonsillitis
    top/o to put, to place, to position ectopic
    thromb/o clotting thrombocyte
    trache/o windpipe (trachea) tracheotomy
    ur/o urine or urea, urinary tract uremia
    urethr/o urethra urethritis
    uter/o uterus intrauterine
    vascul/o blood vessel vascular
    ven/o vein intravenous

    Key Concept

    The combining form ur/o means “urine” or “urea.” In the term uremia, ur/o means “urea.” This term means “blood condition” (-emia) with “urea” (ur-). Urea is a waste product in blood that builds up when the kidneys are not functioning properly (Betts et al., 2013).

    The term uremia often gets confused with the term hematuria; however, hematuria means “a condition of urine” (-uria) with “blood” (hemat-) (Ansorge, 2022).

    tonsillitis
    Figure 1.8
    tracheostomy
    Figure 1.9

    Key Concepts

    Figure 1.8 is an image of inflamed tonsils, or tonsillitis. This term means “inflammation” (-itis) of the “tonsils” (tonsill/o).

    Figure 1.9 is an image of a tracheostomy. This term means an “opening” (-stomy) into the “trachea” (trache/o). There are a number of medical conditions that require a patient to have a tracheostomy, including major burns, long-term comas, and certain types of tumours (John Hopkins Medicine, 2022b).

    Exercises

    Attribution

    Unless otherwise indicated, material on this page has been adapted from the following resource:

    Carter, K., & Rutherford, M. (2020). Building a medical terminology foundation. eCampusOntario. https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/medicalterminology/ licensed under CC BY 4.0

    References

    Ansorge, R. (2022). Blood in urine (hematuria). WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/blood-in-urine-causes

    Betts, J. G., Young, K. A., Wise, J. A., Johnson, E., Poe, B., Kruse, D. H., Korol, O., Johnson, J. E., Womble, M., & DeSaix, P. (2013). Anatomy and physiology. OpenStax. https://openstax.org/details/books/anatomy-and-physiology licensed under CC BY 4.0.

    John Hopkins Medicine. (2022a). Septicemia. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/septicemia#:~:text=Septicemia%2C%20or%20sepsis%2C%20is%20the,the%20type%20of%20organism%20involved

    John Hopkins Medicine. (2022b). Tracheostomy service. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/tracheostomy/about/reasons.html#:~:text=A%20tracheostomy%20is%20usually%20done,deliver%20oxygen%20to%20the%20lungs

    Image Credits
    (Images are listed in order of appearance)

    Osteoarthritis by BruceBlaus, CC BY-SA 4.0

    Cerebrum lobes by CSSKG, CC BY-SA 4.0

    EEG cap by Thuglas, Public domain

    SEM_blood_cells by Bruce Wetzel, Public domain

    Exploratory Laparotomy Scar by jessica raphaela, CC BY-SA 2.0

    Ophthalmoscope by Joyce Tiu, CC BY-SA 4.0

    2003-10-22 Echo Tweeling-01 by DESIDERIUS, Public domain

    Tonsillitis by Michaelbladon, Public domain

    Tracheostomy NIH by National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), Public domain

    definition

    This page titled 1.3: Combining Forms was last modified on Wed, 19 Aug 2026 16:24:23 GMT and is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Lisa Sturdy and Susanne Erickson via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.