Medical Prefixes and Suffixes

Posted by Anthony Lee May 9, 2009

Every field of knowledge has its own jargon, or unique vocabulary, that typically sounds foreign to an outsider. Medicine is certainly no exception. I can recall several instances where people would ask me what a certain medical term means. In most cases, I was able to provide a clear explanation, and I did so by pointing out a simple method.

Except for eponymous terms named after specific people (e.g., Alzheimer's disease), many entries in a medical dictionary have prefixes and suffixes such that their individual meanings combine to form a definition for the whole world. Consider the following examples:

• "appendic-" (the appendix) + "-itis" (inflammation) = "appendicitis" (inflammation of the appendix)
• "col-" (the colon) + "-ectomy" (surgical removal) = "colectomy" (surgical removal of the colon)
• "mammo-" (the breast) + "-graphy" (x-ray imaging) = "mammography" (x-ray imaging of the breast)
• "thrombocyt-" (platelets) + "-penia" (less than normal number of cells in the blood) = "thrombocytopenia" (a condition of having fewer platelets than normal in the blood)
• "coronary" (related to the heart) + "angio-" (blood vessel) + "-plasty" (reconstruction or restructuring) = "coronary angioplasty" (a procedure to open up a narrowed artery in the heart)

The next time you find yourself confused with a medical term, see if you can break it down into its individual parts. With the aid of a medical dictionary or a medical professional, find out what the involved prefixes and suffixes mean. If you can do that, the whole term can be less confusing and, hopefully, more understandable.