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medical terminology

Here's a list of

  • prefixes (word beginnings)
  • suffixes (word endings) and
  • root words

to help you understand a word by breaking it apart.  For example if you saw a word like gastroderm, you would separated it into the two parts: gastro means stomach and derm means skin.  So, gastroderm would mean skin of the stomach.  

a, an..absence of 
acou, acu...hear 
aden, adeno..gland 
aer, aero..air 
alg...pain 
andr, adnro..man 
angi, angio..vessel 
ankyl, ankylo...crooked or curved 
ante...before 
anter, anteri...front, forward 
anti..against 
ateri, aterio...artery 
arthr, arthro..joint 
articul..joint 
ather, athero..fatty 
audi, audio..hearing 
aur, auri...ear 
aut, auto..self 
bi, sib..double, twice, two 
brachy..short 
brady...slow 
bucc, bucco...cheek 
carcin, carcino...cancer 
cardi,cardio...heart 
cephal, celphalo..head 
cerebr, cerebro..brain 
cervic..neck 
chol, chole..bile, gallbladder 
chondr, chondro...cartilage 
circum...around, about 
contra...against, counter 
corpor..body 
cost, costo...rib 
crani, cranio...skull 
cry, cryo...cold 
cut...skin 
cyan, cyano...blue 
cyst, cysto...bladder, 
cyt, cyto...cell 
dactyl, dactylo...finger or toe 
dent...tooth 
derm, dermato..skin 
dipl, diplo...double 
dors..back 
dys...abnormal, faulty 
ectomy...excision (surgical removal) 
emia...blood 
encephal, encephalo..brain 
end, endo...inside 
enter, entero...intestine 
epi...outer, superficial, upon 
erythr, erythro...red 
eu..normal 
extra..outside 
gastr, gastro...stomach 
gen...become, originate 
gloss, glosso..tongue 
glyc, glyco..sweet, glucose 
gram, graph...write, record 
gyn...woman 
hem, hemato..blood 
hemi..half 
helpt, hepato..liver 
hist, histo..tissue 
hydr, hydro...water 
hyper...excessive, high 
hypo...deficient, low 
hyster, hystero...uterus 
iatr, iatro...doctor 
infra....beneath 
inter...among, between 
intra...inside 
itis...inflammation 
lact, lacto...milk 
lapar, laparo...flank, abdomen 
latero..side 
leuk, leuko..white 
lingu, linguo..tongue 
lip, lipo...fat 
lys, lysis...dissolve 
mal...bad, abnormal 
malac....soft

mamm, mammo...breast 
mast, masto..breast 
megal, megalo...large 
melan, melano...black 
mening, meningo...membranes 
my, myo..muscle 
myc, myco..fungus 
myel, myelo...marrow 
nas, naso...nose 
necr, necro..death 
nephr, nephro...kidney 
neur, neuro...nerve 
nutri...nourish 
ocul, oculo...eye 
odyn, odyno...pain 
oma...tumor 
onc, onco...tumor 
oophor, oophoro...ovaries 
ophthalm, ophthalmo..eye 
opia...vision 
opsy...examination 
orchi, orchio...testes 
osis...condition 
osse, osseo...bone 
oste, osteo...bone 
ot, oto...ear 
path, patho...disease 
ped, pedo...child 
penia...deficiency 
peps,pept...digest 
peri...around 
phag, phago...eat, destroy 
pharmaco...drug 
pharyng, pharyngo...throat 
phleb, phlebo...vein 
phob, phobia...fear 
plasty...repair 
pleg, plegia...paralysis 
pnea...breathing 
pneum, pneumato...breath, air 
pneumon, pneumono...lung 
pod, podo...foot 
poie...make, produce 
poly...much, many 
post...after 
poster, posteri...back, behind 
presby...elder 
proct, procto...anus 
pseud, pseudo...false 
psych, psycho...mind 
pulmon, pulmono...lung 
pyel, pyelo...pelvis or kidney 
pyr, pyro...fever, fire 
reachi, rachio...spine 
ren, reno...kidneys 
rhag...break, burst 
rhe...flow 
rhin, rhino...nose 
scler, sclero...hard 
scope...instrument 
scopy...examination 
somat, somato...body 
spondyl, spondylo...vertebra 
steat, steato...fat 
sten, steno...narrow, compressed 
steth, stetho...chest 
stom...mouth, opening 
supra...above 
tachy...fast, quick 
therap...treatment 
therm, thermo...heat 
thorac, thoraco...chest 
thromb, thrombo...cholt, lumb 
tomy...incision, surgery 
tox, toxi...poison 
uria...urine 
vas, vaso...vessel 
ven, veno...vein 
vesic, vesico...bladder 
xer, xero...dry