Medical Terminology
Throughout
your Medical Engineering degree, you will be expected to understand
and learn medical terminology. This can be difficult for first
year students who have had little exposure to this whole kind
of new vocabulary.
Medical terms
are formed with roots, prefixes,
and suffixes, which are usually of Greek
and Latin origins. The root forms the basis of a medical word.
A prefix is added in front of it and a suffix after it to
modify its meaning. An efficient way to recognize the meaning
of a complex medical term is therefore to break it down into
smaller parts, or in other words to "unpack" the
word.
For example:
otorhinolaryngology
oto---rhino---laryng---ology
|
| oto |
rhino |
laryng |
ology |
| This is a root from
the Greek word ot meaning ear |
This is a root from
the Greek word rhinos meaning nose
|
This is a root from
the Greek word larynx meaning voice-box
|
This is a suffix
meaning study |
So the meaning
of this term is:
The
study of the ear, nose and voice-box.
This course will teach you
how to break down unknown words into roots, prefixes and suffixes.
By unpacking the word in this way, confusing words will be
easy to understand and learn.
To help you learn the most
common roots, prefixes and suffixes, a medical
terminology web sitehas been produced for you.
Learn common
roots
Learn common
prefixes
Learn common
suffixes
Test
your knowledge of medical terminology
|
