Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
If you learn common Greek and Latin roots or bases, prefixes, and suffixes, you can figure out the meaning of almost any medical term by breaking it down into parts. This would be much easier than memorizing whole words.
For example, the word "pericarditis" means inflammation around the heart. If we look at the whole word broken down into root word and affixes:
prefix | + | root word | + | suffix |
peri- | card(io) | -itis | ||
around | heart | inflammation |
Medical terms can be formed using several combinations, and sometimes use more than one root word:
For more tips, read the article "Super Easy Tips to Learn Medical Terminology" on the AIMS blog, which links to more resources for medical roots/bases and affixes, including this worksheet from Appalachian State.
These are "umbrella" and departmental terms important to know in healthcare, according to the AIMS blog, which has short definitions. Click on the words to hear how they are pronounced.
Anatomy | Gynecology |
Hematology | Microbiology |
Neonatal | Neurology |
Oncology | Pathology |
Pediatrics | Psychiatry |
Rheumatology | Surgery |
Urology |
Learning medical terms for each part of the body will help you understand general medical records. Click on the words to hear how they are pronounced.
Abdominal – Abdomen | Cranial – Skull |
Digital – Fingers and toes | Femoral – Thigh |
Gluteal – Buttock | Inguinal – Groin |
Lumbar – Loin | Mammary – Breast |
Nasal – Nose | Pectoral – Chest |
Thoracis – Chest | Ventral – Stomach |
This is a list of common medical abbreviations and their meanings. To learn more abbreviations, visit the Taber's Online Medical Dictionary or Medline Plus.
Abbreviation: | Stands For: |
---|---|
ACL | anterior cruciate ligament (commonly injured part of the knee) |
AMI | acute myocardial infarction (heart attack) |
BP | blood pressure |
CAT | computerized axial tomography (a type of x-ray) |
CXR | chest x-ray |
Dx | diagnosis |
h/o | history of |
MMR | measles, mumps, & rubella (a vaccine for three diseases) |
NSAID | non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (drugs like ibuprofen) |
Rx | prescription |
SOB | shortness of breath |
WBC | white blood cell |
Descriptions for what is happening to patients in both diagnosis and general conversation. Longer lists are available on the AIMS blog and Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary.
Abatement | Abrasion |
Acute | Benign |
Chronic | Malignant |
Edema | Etiology |
Non-invasive | Lesion |
Idiopathic | Remission |
Subcutaneous | Syndrome |