General Terminology Root Words
Terms
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- aden/o
- gland, glandular
- albin/o
- white
- alges/i
- pain
- andr/o
- masculine, male
- ansi/o
- unequal, dissimilar, unlike
- anter/o
- anterior, front
- arthr/o
- joint, an articulation
- arche/e, arch/i
-
1. first, chief, extreme
2. primitive, ancestral
3. beginning - axill/o
- armpit
- centr/i
- center
- cephal/o
- head, toward the head
- chori/o
- any membrane, especially that which encloses the fetus
- chromat/o, chrom/o
- color
- crytpt/o
- hidden
- cutane/o
- skin
- cyan/o
- blue
- cyst/i, cyst/o
-
1. bladder
2. cystic duct
3. cyst - ect/o
- out, away, from on the outside
- echin/o
- prickly, spiny
- end/o
- within, inner, absorbing, containing
- ent/o
- inner, within
- erythr/o
- denoting redness, red
- gastr/o
- stomach, abdomen
- ger/o, geront/o
- old age
- hemangi/o
- blood vessel
- hem/o, hemat/o, haem/a
- blood
- hepat/o
- liver
- heter/o
- the other, different
- hom/o, home/o
- the same, alike
- hydr/o
-
1. water, watery
2. containing or combined with hydrogen
3. a hydatid - hyp/o
- deficient, below normal, under, less than
- iatr/o
- physicians, medicine, treatment
- icter/o
- icterus
- idi/o
- private, distinctive, peculiar, one's own
- immun/o
- immune, immunity, protection, resistant to an infectious disease
- intestin/o
- intestine
- kal/i
- potassium
- kines/i, kinesi/o
- motion
- later/o
- lateral, to one side
- lei/o
- smooth
- lept/o
- light, thin, frail
- lev/o
- left, toward or on the left side
- lymphaden/o
- lymph nodes
- lymphangi/o
- lymphatic vessels
- macr/o
- large, long
- meat/o
- passage or channel, especially the external opening of a canal
- medi/o
- middle, median
- melan/o
- black
- mes/o
-
1. middle, mean, intermediacy
2. mesentery or mesentery-like structure - mi/o
- less, smaller
- micr/o
- denotes smallness
- mon/o
- participation or involvement of a single element or part
- muc/i, muc/o
- mucus, mucin
- my/o
- muscle
- myc/o
- fungus
- myx/o
- mucus
- necr/o
- death, necrosis
- nemat/o
- thread, threadlike
- norm/o
- normal, usual
- nyct/o
- night, nocturnal
- oct/a, octi/i, oct/o
- eight
- odyn/o
- pain
- olig/o
-
1. a few, a little
2. too little, too few - opisth/o
- backward, behind, dorsal
- organ/o
- organ, organic
- osm/o
-
1. osmosis
2. smell, odor - oste/o
- bone
- ot/o
- ear
- ox/a, ox/o
- oxygen
- pant/o
- entire
- papill/o
-
1. nipple-like
2. optic disk - pariet/o
-
1. relating to the wall of any cavity
2. somatic
3. relating to a parietal bone - path/o
- disease
- ped/i, ped/o
-
1. child
2. foot, feet - petr/o
- stone, stone-like hardness
- phaner/o
- visible, obvious
- pharmac/o
- drugs
- phor/o
-
1. carrying, bearing
2. a carrier, a bearer - physi/o
-
1. physical, physiological
2. natural, relating to physics - pimel/o
- fat, fatty
- plasm/a, plasm/o, plasmat/o
-
1. formative, organized
2. plasma - ple/o
- more
- pless/i
- striking, percussion
- pon/o
- bodily exertion, fatigue, overwork, pain
- por/o
-
1. a pore, a duct, an opening
2. going through, a passing through
3. a callus, an induration - poster/o
- posterior, at the back of
- presby/o
- old age
- prot/o, prote/o
-
1. protein
2. first in a series; highest in rank - prox/i, proxim/o
- proximal, nearest, next to
- pseud/o
- false (often used about a decepetive resemblance)
- py/o
- suppuration, accumulation of pus
- rhin/o
- nose
- rubr/i, rubr/o
- red
- schist/o
- cleft, division
- scler/o
-
1. hardness (induration)
2. relationship to sclera - sider/o
- iron
- sinistr/o
- left, toward the left
- somat/o
- body, bodily
- sphygm/o
- pulse
- spir/o
-
1. coil, coil-shaped
2. breathing - spongi/o
- sponge, sponge-like, spongy
- squam/o
- squama, squamous (L. a scale)
- sten/o
- narrowness, constriction
- stere/o
-
1. a solid
2. a solid condition or state - steth/o
- chest
- tel/e, tel/o
- distance, end, other end
- thec/o
- sheath or capsule
- ton/o
- tone, tension, pressure
- ul/e, ul/o
-
1. scar, scarring
2. gums
3. curly - ventr/o
- ventral (L. belly)
- viv/i
- living, alive
- xanth/o
- yellow, yellowish
- medull/o
- soft marrow-like structure, especially in the center of a part
-
a - febrile
afebrile -
without - fever
without fever, denoting apyrexia; having a normal body temperature -
andr/o - oid
android -
masculine, male - resembling
having a male form or habitus -
an - icter/o - ic
anicteric -
without - icterus - pertaining to, relating to
not relating to or marked by jaundice -
arthr/o - algia
arthralgia -
joint, an articulation - pain
pain in a joint, especially one not inflammatory in character -
contra - later/o - al
contralateral -
opposed, against - to the side - pertaining to, relating to
relating to the opposite side, as when pain is felt or paralysis occurs on the side opposite that of the lesion -
dys - esthesia
dysethesia -
bad, difficult - perception, feeling
1. impairment of sensation short of anesthesia
2. a condition in which a disagreeable sensation is porduced by oridnary stimuli
3. abnormal sensations experienced in the absense of stimulation -
dys- phagia
dysphagia -
bad, difficult - eating, devouring
difficulty in swallowing -
dys - uria
dysuria -
bad, difficult - urine
difficulty or pain in urination -
eu - thymia
euthymia -
good, well - mind, sould, emotions
1. joyfullness, mental peace and tranquility
2. moderation of mood, not manic or depressed -
gastr/o - intestin/o - al
gastrointestinal -
stomach, abdomen - intestine - pertaining to, relating to
relating to the stomach and the intestines -
geront/o - phobia
gerontophobia -
old age - fear
morbid fear of old persons -
hem/o - ptysis
hemoptysis -
blood - spitting
spitting of blood derived from the lungs or bronchial tubes as a result of pulmonary or bronchial hemorrhage -
hepat/o - splen/o - megaly
hepatosplenomegaly -
liver - spleen - enlargement
enlargement of the liver and spleen -
hyper - emia
hyperemia -
excessive, above normal - blood
the presence of an increased amount of blood flow in a part or organ; congestion -
lymph/o - aden/o - pathy
lymphadenopathy -
lyphm - gland, glandular - disease
any disease process affecting a lymph node or lymph nodes -
my/o - algia
myalgia -
muscle - pain
muscular pain -
norm/o - cephal/o - ic
normocephalic -
normal - head - pertaining to, relating to
having a head of medium length; denoting a skull with a cephalic index between 75 and 80 and with a capacity of 1350 and 1450 ml, or an individual with such a skill -
nulli - parous
nulliparous -
none - to bear, to bring forth
never having borne a child -
organ/o - megaly
organomegaly -
organ - large
abnormal englargement of the viscera, such as may be seen in acromegaly and other disorders -
oste/o - path - ic
osteopathic -
bone - disease - pertaining to, relating to
a disease of bone; relating to osteopathy -
ot/o - algia
otalgia -
ear - pain
pain in the ear -
ot/o - rrhea
otorrhea -
ear - discharge, flow
a discharge from the ear -
rhin/o - itis
rhinitis -
nose - inflammation
inflammation of the nasal mucous membrane -
rhin/o - rrhea
rhinorrhea -
nose - discharge, flow
a discharge from the nose -
supra - clavicul/o - ar
supraclavicular -
above - clavicle - pertaining to, relating to
above the clavicle, denoting some cutaneous nerves -
supra - pub/o - ic
suprapubic -
above - pubic bone - pertaining to, relating to
above the pubic bone