Chapter 14, Problem 7BMW

Summary Introduction

A medical word contains important elements such as a word root, combining form, suffix, or prefix. A “word root” is referred to as the foundation of a “medical term” and the word root contains the primary meaning of the medical term. The combining of the word root (for example, pancreat) and the combining vowel (i or o) results in the formation of a combining form (for example, pancreat/o). A suffix is referred to as a word element that attached or placed to the end of a word (for example, pancreato/lysis). The suffix alters the meaning of a word. A prefix is referred to as a word element that attached or placed to the beginning of a word root or word (for example, intra/muscular). There are three basic rules are involved in building medical words: (i) The word root links the suffix that starts with a vowel; (ii) The combining form (word root + vowel) links the suffix that starts with a consonant; (iii) The combining form links one “word root” to another “word root” to create a compound word.