Medical Terminology Glossary
Learn medical prefixes, suffixes, root words, and common terminology. Build your medical vocabulary with pronunciations and etymologies.
Showing 124 terms
a-, an-
/ay, an/
Without, absence of
ante-
Before, in front of
anti-
Against, opposing
bi-
Two, double
brady-
/BRAY-dee/
Slow
circum-
Around
contra-
Against, opposite
de-
Down, away from
dys-
/dis/
Difficult, painful, abnormal
ecto-, exo-
Outside, outer
endo-
Within, inside
epi-
Upon, above, over
eu-
/yoo/
Good, normal, well
hemi-
Half
hyper-
Above, excessive
hypo-
Below, deficient
infra-
Below, beneath
inter-
Between
intra-
Within
macro-
Large
micro-
Small
neo-
New
pan-
All, entire
para-
Beside, near, abnormal
peri-
Around, surrounding
poly-
Many, much
post-
After, behind
pre-
Before, in front of
retro-
Behind, backward
sub-
Under, below
super-, supra-
Above, beyond
tachy-
/TAK-ee/
Fast, rapid
trans-
Across, through
uni-
One
-algia
/AL-jee-ah/
Pain
-ase
Enzyme
-cele
/seel/
Hernia, swelling, tumor
-centesis
Surgical puncture to remove fluid
-cyte
/site/
Cell
-ectomy
Surgical removal
-emia
/EE-mee-ah/
Blood condition
-genic
Producing, causing
-gram
Written record
-graph
Instrument for recording
-graphy
Process of recording
-ia, -iasis
Condition, disease
-ic, -ical
Pertaining to
-ism
Condition, process
-itis
/EYE-tis/
Inflammation
-logy
Study of
-lysis
Breakdown, destruction
-malacia
Softening
-megaly
Enlargement
-oma
/OH-mah/
Tumor, mass
-osis
/OH-sis/
Abnormal condition
-ostomy
Surgical opening
-otomy
Surgical incision
-pathy
Disease, suffering
-penia
/PEE-nee-ah/
Deficiency
-phasia
Speech
-phobia
Fear
-plasty
Surgical repair
-plegia
/PLEE-jee-ah/
Paralysis
-pnea
/NEE-ah/
Breathing
-rrhage, -rrhagia
Bursting forth, bleeding
-rrhea
/REE-ah/
Flow, discharge
-sclerosis
Hardening
-scope
Instrument for viewing
-scopy
Process of viewing
-stasis
Stopping, controlling
-stenosis
Narrowing
-therapy
Treatment
-tomy
Incision, cutting
-trophy
Nourishment, development
-uria
Urine condition
cardi/o
/KAR-dee-oh/
Heart
cephal/o
Head
cerebr/o
Brain, cerebrum
col/o, colon/o
Colon
cyst/o
Bladder, sac
derm/o, dermat/o
Skin
enter/o
Intestine
gastr/o
Stomach
hem/o, hemat/o
Blood
hepat/o
Liver
myo/o
Muscle
nephr/o, ren/o
Kidney
neur/o
Nerve
oste/o
Bone
pneum/o, pulmon/o
Lung
thorac/o
Chest
vas/o
Vessel
ven/o
Vein
Acute
Sudden onset, severe, short duration
Chronic
Long-lasting, persistent over time
Benign
Not cancerous, not harmful
Malignant
Cancerous, harmful, tending to spread
Idiopathic
/id-ee-oh-PATH-ik/
Of unknown cause
Iatrogenic
/eye-AT-roh-JEN-ik/
Caused by medical treatment
Etiology
/ee-tee-OL-oh-jee/
Cause or origin of disease
Pathogenesis
Development of disease
Prognosis
Predicted outcome of disease
Prophylaxis
/pro-fih-LAK-sis/
Prevention of disease
Remission
Decrease or disappearance of symptoms
Exacerbation
/eg-ZAS-er-BAY-shun/
Worsening of symptoms
Sequela
/seh-KWEL-ah/
Condition following another disease
Comorbidity
Coexisting medical conditions
Contraindication
Reason not to use a treatment
Empirical
Based on experience, not proven
Palliative
/PAL-ee-uh-tiv/
Relieving symptoms without curing
Asymptomatic
Without symptoms
Symptomatic
Having symptoms
Bilateral
Affecting both sides
Unilateral
Affecting one side
Proximal
Closer to the center/point of attachment
Distal
Farther from the center/point of attachment
Lateral
Toward the side
Medial
Toward the midline
Superior
Above, toward the head
Inferior
Below, toward the feet
Anterior
Front, toward the front
Posterior
Back, toward the back
Superficial
Near the surface
Deep
Away from the surface
How Medical Terms Are Built
Example: Cardiomyopathy
Example: Gastroenteritis
Clear, Professional Documentation
PatientNotes AI generates documentation using proper medical terminology, ensuring clear communication with other healthcare providers.
Start Free Trial7-day free trial • No credit card required