HolisticBird and HolisticBirds

Medical terms

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