Medical Terminology: Eponyms, Acronyms, Roots, Prefixes, and Suffixes

Understanding Medical Terminology: Eponyms, Acronyms, and Word Parts

Eponyms. The word 'eponym' is derived from the Greek words 'epi' (upon) + 'onyma' (name). It literally means "to put your name on something." Thus, an eponym is a word formed by including the name of the person who discovered or invented whatever is being described. Sometimes, in the case of diseases, an eponym is named in honor of the disease’s first or most noteworthy diagnosed victim.

Acronyms. The word 'acronym' is derived from the Greek words 'acro' (high, end) + 'onyma' (name). It literally means "to make a name with the ends." Thus, an acronym is a word made up of the first letters of each of the words that make up a phrase. One example is the diagnostic imaging process called magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI. Remember that acronyms are just shorthand—you still need to know what the words mean.

Just as any language has nouns, verbs, and adjectives, the language of medicine is made up of three main building blocks: roots, suffixes, and prefixes. Medical language is constructed by combining a root with a suffix and often a prefix.

• Root—foundation or subject of the term
• Suffix—ending that gives essential meaning to the term
• Prefix—added to the beginning of a term when needed to further modify the root

A root is the foundation of any medical term. Roots function like nouns in the language of medicine. It is the base, or subject, of a word—it is what the word is about. Most roots refer to things like body parts, organs, and fluids.

Common Medical Roots

arthr/o joint

cardi/o heart

enter/o small intestine

gastr/o stomach

hepat/o liver

neur/o nerve

hem/o hemat/o blood

my/o muscul/o muscle

angi/o vas/o vascul/o vessel

derm/o dermat/o cutane/o skin

pneum/o pneumon/o pulmon/o lung

gen/o creation, cause

hydr/o water

morph/o change

myc/o fungus

necr/o death

path/o suffering, disease

phag/o eat

py/o pus

plas/o formation

scler/o hard

xen/o foreign

troph/o nourishment, development

Common Medical Suffixes

-ia -ism condition

-ium tissue, structure

-y condition, procedure

-iatric, -iatry medical science

-iatrist specialist in medicine of

-ist specialist

-logist specialist in the study of

-logy study of

-algia -dynia pain

-cele hernia

-emia blood condition

-iasis presence of

-itis inflammation

-lysis loosen, break down

-malacia abnormal softening

-megaly enlargement

-oma tumor

-osis condition

-pathy disease

-penia deficiency

-centesis puncture

-gram written record

-graph instrument used to produce a record

-graphy writing procedure

-meter instrument used to measure

-metry process of measuring

-scope instrument used to look

-scopy process of looking

-plasty reconstruction

-tomy incision