32 terms in this chapter
life
cancer
chemical, drug
A word root combined with a combining vowel (e.g., cardi/o).
A vowel (usually 'o') used to link a word root to a suffix or another word root to ease pronunciation.
cold
cell
epithelium, lining
cause (of disease)
fibrous tissue
origin, generation, producing
tissue
physician, treatment
nucleus
fat
form, shape
death (of cells or body)
tumor, mass
disease
drug, medicine
formation, development
Prefixes are attached directly to the beginning of the word without a combining vowel (e.g., epi- + gastr/o + -ic = epigastric).
fire, heat, fever
flesh, connective tissue
body
If a suffix begins with a vowel, drop the combining vowel from the root (e.g., gastr/o + -itis = gastritis).
If a suffix begins with a consonant, keep the combining vowel (e.g., gastr/o + -logy = gastrology).
heat
poison, toxin
internal organs
The core foundation of a medical term, usually derived from Greek or Latin, representing a body part or basic meaning.