Chapter 1

General Introduction
 Teaching Content
• Structure of a medical term
• Pronunciation of medical terms
• Spelling of medical terms
 Part One
Overview of Medical Terminology
• Definition of medical terminology
Special vocabulary used by health
professionals for accurately describing the
human body and its associated components,
conditions (both healthy and diseased) and
processes.
 Part One
Overview of Medical Terminology
• Origins of Medical Terminology
Words of Greek origin: commonly used to
build terms that describe a medical condition,
clinical treatment, or diagnostic procedures
Words of Latin origin: used to name
anatomical structures or form adjectives(p. 82)
e.g. kidney: nephros (Greek), renes (Latin)
nephrology renal
 Part One
Overview of Medical Terminology
• Features of Medical Terminology
Peculiarities
-- great length
pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanokoniosis
(火山灰超细硅粉尘肺)
-- great size
Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary (32nd
edition, May 2011): over 120,000 entries, over
5,500 new entries
 Part One
Overview of Medical Terminology
• Features of Medical Terminology
Regularities
-- a small number of meaningful word
parts/elements
 Part Two
Structure of Medical Terms
• Components of Medical Terminology
Word elements:
-- prefix
-- suffix
-- root
-- combining vowel
Part Two Structure of Medical Terms
1. Prefix
-- Definition: the word part appearing
at the beginning of a word
-- Function: give such information as
location, direction, time, amount,
negation
-- Position: initial place, followed by a
hyphen "-"
 Examples of Prefixes
Prefix Meaning Example
epi- above epidermis
pan- all pantalgia
poly- many polysemy
uni- one unisex
Part Two Structure of Medical Terms

2. Suffix
-- Definition: the word part that appears at
the end of a word
-- Function: normally indicate medical
procedures, instruments, physiological
and pathological conditions or part of
speech
-- Position: end, preceded by a hyphen "-"
 Examples of Suffixes
Suffix Meaning Example
-al pertaining to renal
-itis inflammation hepatitis
-logy study of biology
-pathy disease nephropathy
Part Two Structure of Medical Terms

3. Root
-- Definition: the basic unit of a medical
term
-- Function: form the primary meaning of
the term
-- Cannot stand alone
e.g. stomachache = stomach + ache
gastrodynia
 Examples of Roots
Root Meaning Example
gastr stomach gastritis
neur nerve neuritis
psych mind psychology
oste bone osteopathy
Part Two Structure of Medical Terms
4. Combining vowel (o, i)
-- Definition: a vowel attached to the end of
a root
-- Function: help to make a medical term
easier to pronounce
• link a root with a suffix: neurology
• link two roots together: gastroenterology
-- Position: after a root
Part Two Structure of Medical Terms
5. Combining form
-- Definition: a word root + a combining
vowel (e.g. neur/o)
-- Function: serves as a basic foundation on
which other elements can be added to
form a complete word (e.g. neurology)
-- Position: the left side of medical terms,
followed by other word elements
 Examples of Combining Forms
Root+Combining Vowel=Combining Form
gastr o = gastr/o
neur o = neur/o
psych o = psych/o
oste o = oste/o
cent i = centimeter
Part Two Structure of Medical Terms
• Understanding of Medical Terms
1. suffix → combining form(s)
neuro·pathy
nerve disease

2. suffix → prefix → combining form(s)

poly·neuro·pathy
many nerve disease
Part Two Structure of Medical Terms
• Omission of the Combining Vowel
-- combining form + suffix beginning
with a vowel
e.g. neuro + algia → neuralgia
osteo + itis → osteitis
-- combining form + combining form
e.g. gastr/o + enter/o + -logy
→ gastro·entero·logy
True or False?
1. There are always prefixes at the beginning of medical
terms.
2. A prefix modifies the meaning of the word.
3. A combining vowel is used to ease pronunciation.
4. The word root is the core of a medical term.
5. A combining vowel is used between a prefix and a
root.
6. A combining form is a word part.
7. A combining vowel is used when connecting a root
and a suffix beginning with the letter p.
KEY
1. There are always prefixes at the beginning of medical
terms. (F)
2. A prefix modifies the meaning of the word. (T)
3. A combining vowel is used to ease pronunciation. (T)
4. The word root is the core of a medical term. (T)
5. A combining vowel is used between a prefix and a root.
(F)
6. A combining form is a word part. (F)
7. A combining vowel is used when connecting a root and
a suffix beginning with the letter p. (T)
(e.g. neuropathy)
 Part Three
Pronunciation of Medical Terms
• In most cases, pronunciation of medical terms
is consistent with English pronunciation.

Stressed syllable

1. In words with one syllable, no stress occurs.

e.g. heart

2. The stress is NEVER on the last syllable.

 Part Three
Pronunciation of Medical Terms

Stressed syllable
3. The main stress is often on the second-to-last
syllable with words ending with ic, ia, s/tion.
ce’phalic
neuralgia
incision
 Part Three
Pronunciation of Medical Terms
Stressed syllable
4. The main stress is on the third-to-the-last
syllable with words ending with cy, gy, my, py,
sy, ty, ous or al.
psy-cho-lo-gy
gas-tros-co-py
cer-vi-cal
gas-trec-to-my
 Part Three
Pronunciation of Medical Terms
• General Rules
Put stress around the combining vowel
e.g. cardi’ology
Put stress on the initial vowel of the
suffix if the combining vowel is
omitted
e.g. neu’roma
 Part Three
Pronunciation of Medical Terms
• Silent Letter in Combination with
Other Letters (p. 6)
Rule: only in the initial position
-- gn
-- mn
-- pt
-- pn
-- ps
 Part Three
Pronunciation of Medical Terms
Pronunciation of Consonants
• c: /k/ +a, o, u /s/ + e, i
e.g. cardiac (pertaining to heart)
colon
cutaneous
cell, thoracic (pertaining to chest)
• ch: /k/ e.g. chronic
 Part Three
Pronunciation of Medical Terms
Pronunciation of Consonants
• g: /g/ + a, o, u /dʒ/ + e, i
e.g. gallbladder
gonad (reproductive gland)
gut (intestines)
gene
gingivitis (inflammation of gum)
 Part Three
Pronunciation of Medical Terms
Pronunciation of Consonants
• ph: /f/
e.g. physiology
• r(r)h: /r/
e.g. diarrhea (frequent feces watery discharge)
• x: /z/+ /ks/
e.g. xantho/ (yellow)
toxic (poisonous)
 Part Four
Spelling of Medical Terms
• British English vs. American English
Alternative Spelling Br. Am.
ae→ e
aetiology(study of the cause of a disease)
faeces (stool)
haematology (study of blood)
 Part Four
Spelling of Medical Terms
Alternative Spelling Br. Am.
oe → e
oedema (presence of large amounts of
fluid in tissue)
diarrhoea (watery stool)
coeliac (pertaining to abdomen)
our → or tumour
re → er metre
 Part Four Spelling of Medical Terms
• Sometimes, the word of the body organ
and its corresponding root differ in
spelling.
pharynx ________________
thorax ________________
nerve ________________
femur ________________
vein ________________
Part Four Spelling of Medical Terms
Word Combining Form
pharynx pharyng/o
thorax thorac/o
nerve neur/o
femur femor/o
vein ven/o
Part Four Spelling of Medical Terms
Words with Confusing Spellings
• Similar spellings, but different
meanings
hepatoma (tumor of liver)
hematoma (mass of blood)

faces/feces
 Part Four
Spelling of Medical Terms
Words with Confusing Spellings
• The same pronunciation, but different
spellings and meanings--homophones
ileum (part of small intestine)
ilium (part of hipbone)

waist/waste