Take A Course In Medical Terminology

The high level of complexity that medical terminology seems to promote is actually quite easy to decode and even assimilate into one’s own lexicon.  In grammar school or in a situation where someone is trying to learn a new language, the easiest way to learn that language is to break apart the words into their most basic elements.  Medical terminology’s most basic elements are the prefix, root word and the suffix.  Once these elements are incorporated into a person’s knowledge base the language begins to be comprehended.

Medical terminology has an ancient history – literally.  Nearly every medical term that is used in a doctor’s visit today has its origin in the Greek and Roman civilizations.  Since Latin and Greek are the respective languages of these formidable empires, it stands to reason that the terms are incorporated within their languages.  In the medical profession there is a bit of a taboo on mixing Greek and Latin terms.  Just like the Romans and Greeks gave the world philosophy, democracy, drama and its associated splendor, they also were unwitting pioneers in medical research.

Latin prefixes are numerous and are used to give the root word a different quality that relates to what is occurring to that root word.  There are a great many Latin prefixes within the medical community and they have a great versatility in usage.  Some of the most important Latin prefixes are trans- (moving across), ante- (in front of), post- (backside or after), and bi- (twice or double).

Greek prefixes function in the same capacity as Latin prefixes.  They are numerous and may take a long time to learn, however, it is important to be patient.  Once the major prefixes are recognized it gets much easier to understand medical terminology.  Important Greek prefixes are bio- (having to do with any type of life), di- (two), dys- (troublesome or bad), and ec- (out and away).

Latin suffixes work the same as Latin prefixes, the biggest difference between the Latin prefix and the Latin suffix is that the Latin suffix is located on the end of the root word while the prefix is located before the root word.  Some important Latin suffixes are –form (having the shape of), -icle (small or miniature), -ics (having knowledge of, e.g. pediatrics).

Greek suffixes serve the same purpose as the Latin suffixes, as well as having the same location in relation to the root word.  Since Greek came before Latin there are probably more suffixes in Greek than in Latin.  Some of the prominent Greek suffixes are –ismus (spasm), -ist (a person with a specialty such as a nutritionist), -itis (inflammation), and –ite (having the nature of or resembling).

Root words in Greek and Latin could be considered to be the floor between the two walls, or the furniture that occupies the linguistic room that the walls border.  There are many root words that have the same meaning in Greek or Latin.  Some examples of root words are cerebr(o) (Latin: brain), steth(o) (Greek: chest), and lip(o) (Greek: fatty tissue).

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