Copyright © 2006 Thomson Delmar Learning Chapter 1 Ready, Set, Go Introduction to Veterinary...

Copyright © 2006 Thomson Delmar Learning

Chapter 1

Ready, Set, Go

Introduction to Veterinary Medical Terminology


Anatomy of a Medical Term

• Many medical terms are composed of word part combinations

• Recognizing word parts and their meanings will help in understanding medical terms

• Learning veterinary medical terminology is much easier once you understand how word parts work together to form medical terms


Anatomy of a Medical Term

• Prefix: word part found at the beginning of a word

• Root: word part that gives the essential meaning of the word

• Suffix: word part found at the end of a word


Other Word Parts

• Combining vowel: a single vowel, usually an “o,” that is added to the end of a root to make the word easier to pronounce

• Combining form: the combination of the root and the combining vowel


Prefixes

• Prefixes usually, but not always, indicate location, time, number, or status

• Prefixes will be presented with a hyphen following them– prefix-

• Pre- means before:– Preoperative means

before an operation

• Peri- means around:– Perioperative means

pertaining to the time around an operation

• Post- means after:– Postoperative means

after an operation


Learning Prefixes

• Learning prefixes may be easier when they are presented in pairs or in similar groups:– A- and an- both mean without or no– Ab- means away from; ad- means

towards


Roots

• Roots are the foundation of medical terms

• Roots usually, but not always, describe the part of the body that is involved

• Roots cannot stand alone:– A suffix must be

added to complete the term

– A prefix may be added to the term


Combining Forms

• Combining forms = root plus a vowel

• There may be more than one combining form for a body part

• Combining forms will be presented with a backslash– hepat/o

• Examples of combining forms:– Nas/o means nose– Rhin/o means nose– Ren/o means kidney– Nephr/o means

kidney


Suffixes

• Suffixes usually, but not always, indicate the procedure, condition, disorder, or disease

• There are many related groups of suffixes– “pertaining to”

suffixes– surgical suffixes– procedural suffixes– the double “r”

suffixes– conditional suffixes


Suffixes

• Suffixes may change the part of speech of a word

• Different suffixes may change the word from a noun to an adjective

• -osis (noun) versus -tic (adjective)

• -emia (noun) versus -ic (adjective)

• -us (noun) versus -ous (adjective)

• -um (noun) versus -ac (adjective)


Suffix Variation Depending on Usage

Insert Figure 1-2


Combining Vowels

• A combining vowel may be used to make the medical term easier to pronounce

• A combining vowel is not used when the suffix begins with a vowel

• A combining vowel is used when the suffix begins with a consonant

• A combining vowel is used when two or more word roots are joined

• A prefix does not need a combining vowel


Analyzing Medical Terms

1. Dissect—analyze the word structurally by dividing it into its basic components.

2. Begin at the end—then define the suffix first, the prefix second and then the roots. If there are two roots, read them from left to right.

3. Anatomic order—where body systems are involved, the words are usually built in the order in which the organs occur in the body

• except in some diagnostic procedures in which the tools or substances are passed in the opposite direction of anatomic order (retrograde).


Analyzing Medical Terms

• Example: ovariohysterectomy• Divide the term:

– ovari/o/hyster/ectomy

• Start at the end:– -ectomy is surgical removal– ovari/o means ovary – hysteri/o means uterus

• Anatomic order: body parts are in order• Ovariohysterectomy means surgical

removal of the ovaries and uterus


General Pronunciation Guidelines

• A medical term is easier to understand and remember when you pronounce it correctly

• In general, – all vowels in scientific words are

pronounced– consonants are pronounced as in other

English words

• Use Table 1-2 as a pronunciation guide• Remember, there may be more than one

correct way to pronounce a word


Spelling Is Always Important

• Accuracy in spelling medical words is extremely important– Changing one or two letters may com-

pletely change the meaning of a word:• hepatoma versus hematoma• urethra versus ureters

– Some words sound alike, but are spelled differently and have very different meanings:

• ileum versus ilium


Using a Medical Dictionary

• Alphabetically look for words as you think they would be spelled starting with the first and second letters of the word

• If the term is not spelled the way it sounds, consider the following:– F sounds may begin with f or ph– J sounds may begin with g or j– K sounds may begin with c, ch, k, or qu– S sounds may begin with c, ps, or s– Z sounds may begin with x or z

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