Prefixes, and Suffixes, OH MY!
Medicine is heavy on the use of prefixes (an affix which is placed before the stem of a word), and suffixes (an affix which is placed after the stem of a word). Knowing some of these can take the guesswork and late night Googling out of the picture. With that, it seems fitting to start with the Prefixes.
PREFIXES
There are so many words in medicine that can be partially defined just by knowing prefixes of the words. Example, let us pretend your physician gave you a diagnosis of Intracranial Hemorrhage. The Prefix of intra — tells you half of what you need to know. Knowing that intra — means “within” helps you decipher the next part, cranial (pertaining to the skull), and voila you are making progress on deciphering your diagnosis. All you need is the definition of hemorrhage — A word here meaning to bleed — and you will be on your way.
- a- without
- ab- away from
- ad- toward
- an- without, not
- ante- before, forward
- anti- against
- auto- self, own
- bi- two
- bio- life
- brady- slow
- cata- down
- con- with, together
- contra- against, opposite
- de- reversal of, without
- dia- through, complete
- dis- away from
- dorsi- back
- dys- bad, difficult, painful
- ec- out, outside
- ecto- out, outside
- endo- in, within
- epi- upon, on, above
- eu- good, normal
- ex- outside, away from
- exo- outside extra- outside of
- hemi- half
- hyper- above, excessive
- hypo- below, deficient
- in- not, into, within
- inter- between
- infra- beneath, under
- intra- within
- mal- bad
- macro- large
- micro- small
- pan- all
- para- abnormal, beside, near
- neo- new
- mal- bad, inadequate
- meta- beyond, change
- non- not
- per- through
- peri- around
- pros- before, forward
- poly- many
- pro- to go forward
- quad- four
- re- back, again
- retro- behind, backward
- sub- under
- supra- above
- sym- together, with
- syn- together, with
- trans- across, through
SUFFIXES
- -ac pertaining to
- -al pertaining to
- -algia pain
- -ar pertaining to
- -ary pertaining to
- -asthenla weakness
- -atlon a process, being or having
- -ative pertaining to
- -blast immature cell
- -cele hernia
- -centesls puncture to withdraw fluid
- -clasla surgical breaking
- -clast to break
- -cocci berry-shaped bacteria (plural)
- -coccus berry-shaped bacterium
- -cyte cell
- -desis to bind or tie together
- -dynia pain
- -enl pertaining to
- -ectomy surgical excision
- -ed pertaining to
- -ee person who is the object of an action
- -emia blood condition
- -er one who studies
- -ful full of
- -genesis condition of producing, forming
- -genie producing -graft tissue for implant or transplant
- -gram a record or picture
- -graph instrument for recording
- -graphy process of recording
- -la condition -lac pertaining to
- -ial pertaining to -ic pertaining to
- -ical pertaining to
- -ics knowledge, practice
- -ine pertaining to
- -ion action, condition
- -ist specialist
- -itis inflammation of, infection of
- -ium structure, tissue
- -ization process of making, creating, or inserting
- -kinesia movement
- -llsthesis slipping
- -logist one who studies
- -logy study of
- -ly in a certain way
- -lysis breakdown, destruction, separation
- -malacla softening
- -megaly enlargement
- -ment action, state
- -meter instrument used to measure
- -metry process of measuring
- -old resembling, derived from
- -ole little, small
- -oma tumor, mass
- -opsy to view
- -ory having the function of
- -ose pertaining to, full of
- -osing a condition of doing
- -osis condition, process
- -otomy surgical incision
- -ous pertaining to -pathy disease condition
- -penia deficiency
- -phobia fear
- -physis to grow
- -phyte growth
- -plasia development, formation, growth
- -plasty surgical reshaping
- -porosis porous
- -ptosis drooping, falling, prolapse
- -rrhaphy suture
- -rrhexis rupture
- -sclerosis hardening
- -scope instrument used to examine
- -scopy process of using and instrument to examine
- -stasis controlling, stopping -stenosis narrowing
- -steroid steroid
- -stomy open to form a mouth (stoma)
- -therapy treatment
- -tic pertaining to
- -tion a process, being or having
- -tome instrument to cut
- -tomy incision, cutting into
- -trophy development
- -ule little, small
- -um structure, tissue
- -ure system, result of
- -verse to travel, to turn
- -y having or being
