Transcript NURSING ONE Medical Terminology

Introduction to Medical Terminology





Language of the medical field
Communication
Written and spoken in the clinical area
Bonus: Look really smart when watching TV
medical shows
Originates from Latin & Greek

Medical terms
◦
◦
◦
◦
Prefix
Root
Suffix
Do not have to have all three

Prefix
◦ At beginning of word
◦ *Not all medical terms have a prefix
◦ Prefixes are attached to words to express numbers,
measurements, position, negative, colors
◦ epi—on or upon
◦ hypo—below or low
◦ hemi—half
◦ pan—all or everywhere

Root
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
The word’s foundation
*All medical terms have at least one root
If no prefix—the root will begin the medical term
gastr—stomach
cyt--cell
glycem—blood sugar
pleg—paralysis

Suffix
◦
◦
◦
◦
The medical terms ending
*Most medical terms have a suffix
ic—pertaining to
penia—decrease




Epi/gastr/ic—pertaining to over the stomach
Pan/cyto/penia—decrease in all blood cells
Hemi/plegia—one side paralysis
Hepato/megaly—enlargement of the liver








A combining vowel (usually o) joins a root to
another root or to a suffix
Example: Therm(o)meter
Therm. = heat (root)
Meter = measuring device (root)
Hepat(o)megaly—enlarged liver
Hepat—liver (root)
megaly (suffix)
Osteoporosis—porous condition of bone
Oste—bone (root)
porosis (suffix)
bi – two, double
hemi – half
milli – 1/1000
mono – one, single
primi – first
semi – half
tri – three
uni – one
bicuspid
hemiplegic
milliliter
monocyte
primigravida
semiconscious
triceps
unilateral
hyper – excessive or high
multi – many
poly – many
hypo – below or low
tachy—rapid or fast
brady—slow

a – without
ab – from, away from
ad – toward, increase
ambi – both, both sides
an – without
ante – before, in front
circum – around
peri—around
pre – in front of before
post – after
retro – backward, behind
sub – under, below
supra – above







cardi --- heart
gastr --- stomach
mast ------ breast
hepat --- liver
oste ----- bone
neur ----- nerve
arthr ----- joint






fibr---fibrous tissue
my----muscle
myel---bone marrow or spinal cord
enter---intestine
col-----colon
chole---gall or bile





Suffix :
clarify
will make a new word
will change the meaning of the root
Example:
Tonsillitis – inflammation of tonsils
Tonsillectomy – removal of tonsils








porosis ----- porous condition
cyte --------- cell
ectomy ------ surgical removal
algia -------- pain -------- dynia
megaly ----- enlargement
logy --------- study of
itis ------------ inflammation
oma --------- tumor








scope -------- device for viewing
scopy -------- act of viewing
sclerosis ------ hardness
stenosis ------ narrowed, blocked
lith ------------ stone, calculus
iasis ----------- indicating a condition
ic -------------- pertaining to
tripsy --------- crushing








Gastrectomy
Hepatic
Hepatocarcinoma
Neuropathy
Neurofibroma
Neurogastric
Osteoporosis
Osteomyelitis





Cholecystectomy
Cholelithiasis
Cholecystitis
Cardiomyopathy
Osteoarthritis

Acronym
◦ Medical terms formed by combining letters of a
word or phrase




COPD—Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
HIV—Human Immunodeficiency Virus
CAD—Coronary Artery Disease
HTN—Hypertension

Eponym
◦ Medical term based on the name of a person
 Parkinson’s Disease
 Kaposi’s Sarcoma
 Sulk Vaccine
Meridian time
12 Midnight
1 am
2 am
3 am
4 am
5 am
6 am
Military time
2400 or 0000
0100
0200
0300
0400
0500
0600
7
8
9
10
11
12
1
2
3
am
am
am
am
am
noon
pm
pm
pm
0700
0800
0900
1000
1100
1200
1300
1400
1500
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
pm
pm
pm
pm
pm
pm
pm
pm
midnight
1600
1700
1800
1900
2000
2100
2200
2300
2400 or 0000





8:15 A.M. = 0815 or 08:15
11:32 P.M. = 2332 or 23:32
6:45 A.M. =
8:35 P.M. =
1:04 P.M. =
b.i.d.
t.i.d.
q.i.d.
min.
h. or hr.
qh
q2h
q3h
q4h
twice a day
three times a day
four times a day
minute
hour
every hour
every two hours
every three hours
every four hours
q 6h
q 8h
q 12h
NPO
Change
every 6 hours
every 8 hours
every 12 hour
nothing by mouth
Multiplied by, magnification
Divide /
Equals =
Greater than
>
Less than
<
x
gtt
tab or T with dot
cap
susp
supp
drop
tablet
capsule
suspension
suppository
ac
pc
ad lib
prn
stat

before meal
after meal
as desired
when necessary
immediately, as soon
as possible
IM
IV
IVPB
Sub-Q
SL
ID
NG
po
Intramuscular
Intravenous
Intravenous Piggyback
Subcutaneous
Sublingual
Intradermal
Nasogastric tube
By mouth









ADL’s---activities of daily living
H&P-----history and physical
WNL----within normal limits
NKA-----no known allergies
SOB-----short of breath
LUQ-----left upper quadrant
HOH-----hard of hearing
CVA------cerebral vascular accident
bpm------beats per minute




CBC---complete blood count
LLE----left lower extremity
BLE----bilateral lower extremity
Right arm?-----

Abbreviation
U
ug
QD
QOD
Intended
units
micrograms
every day
every other day
Preferred
“units”
“mcg”
“daily”
every other day
AS.AD.AU
Left, right, both ears
write left ear etc
OS, OD, OU
left, right, both eyes write left eye etc.
JACHO – Joint commission on accreditation of Health Care
Organizations
IU
5.0 mg.
.5
MS
MS04
mGs04
International unit
Trailing zero
“write”
No zero
after
decimal
point write 5 mg
leading zero
Always a
zero
before a
decimal
point, write 0.5 mg
Morphine Sulfate
“write”
Morphine Sulfate
“write”
Magnesium Sulfate
“write”





H.S. (half strength or bedtime)—Must write
out “half strength” or “at bedtime”
T.I.W. (three times a week)—Must write three
times weekly
SC or SQ (subcutaneous)—Sub-Q or write out
subcutaneous
D/C (discharge)—Must write discharge
cc (unit of measurement)—Must write “ml” for
milliliters


> or < (greater than or less than)—Must write
out “greater than” or “less than”
/ (do not use a slash mark to separate
doses)—Must write out per




Example—5 mg/0.5ml
Example—25 units/1 ml
Approved example—5 mg per 0.5 ml
Approved example—25 units per 1 ml