Added to the end to describe a condition, procedure, or disease (e.g., -itis for inflammation, -ectomy for surgical removal). Essential Medical Roots and Components
Mastering basic roots allows you to decipher complex terms across different body systems: 75 Must-Know Medical Terms, Abbreviations, and Acronyms Medical Terminology for Dummies
Added to the beginning to modify meaning, such as indicating position, quantity, or time (e.g., hyper- for above/excessive, pre- for before). Added to the end to describe a condition,
Medical language is primarily built from three core components that act as building blocks: or disease (e.g.
The core of the word, often referring to a body part (e.g., cardi- for heart, gastr- for stomach).