"Unlocking the Meaning Behind Medical Terminology: A Guide to Understanding Prefixes in Healthcare"

Medical terminology can often seem like a foreign language, with words that are seemingly unpronounceable and difficult to understand. But did you know that many of these terms can be broken down into smaller, more manageable components? That's where medical prefixes come in. These linguistic elements provide essential information about the meaning of a medical term and can help you to understand the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of a wide range of medical conditions. In this guide, we'll take a closer look at some of the most commonly used medical prefixes, demystifying their meanings and helping you to make sense of the complex terminology used in healthcare. Whether you're a student studying medicine, or simply someone who wants to have a better understanding of their health, this guide is for you.

COMMON PREFIXES

PREFIX	MEANING	EXAMPLE
A-, An-	Without; Lacking	Anemia
Andr/o-	Male	Androgen
Anti-	Against	Anticholinergic drugs
Auto-	Self	Autocrine
Bio-	Life	Biology
Chem/o-	Chemistry	Chemotherapy
Contra-	Against	Contraception
Cyt/o-	Cell	Cytokine
Dis-	Separation; Taking apart	Dissection
Eu-	Good; Well	Eupnea
Fibr/o-	Fiber	Fibrosis
Gluco-, Glyco-	Glucose; Sugar	Glycogen
Gyn/o-, Gynec-	Female	Gynecology
Hydr/o-	Water	Hydrocephalus
Idio-	Self; One’s own	Idiopathic
Lyso-, Lys-	Break down; Destruction; Dissolving	Lysosome
Mal-	Bad; Abnormal	Malignant
Myc/o-	Fungus	Mycetoma
Necr/o-	Death	Necrosis
Neo-	New	Neonate
Oxy-	Sharp; Acute; Oxygen	Oxytocin
Pan-, Pant/o-	All or everywhere	Pancytopenia
Pharmaco-	Drug; Medicine	Pharmacist
Re-	Again; Backward	Rejuvenation
Somat/o-, Somatico-	Body; Bodily	Somatic cell
Dys-	Difficult; Abnormal	Dyspnea

BODY PART PREFIXES

PREFIX	MEANING	EXAMPLE
Acous/o-	Hearing	Acoustic meatus
Aden/o-	Gland	Adenoid
Adip/o	Fat	Adipocyte
Adren/o-	Gland	Adrenal cortex
Angi/o-	Blood vessel	Angioplasty
Arteri/o	Artery	Arteriole
Arthr/o-	Joint	Arthroplasty
Bucc/o-	Cheek	Buccal cavity
Bronch/i-	Bronchus	Bronchioles
Burs/o-	Bursa	Bursitis
Carcin/o-	Cancer	Basal cell carcinoma
Cardi/o-	Heart	Cardiology
Cephal/o-	Head	Cephalic flexure
Chol-	Bile	Cholelithiasis
Chondri-	Cartilage	Chrondrosarcoma
Coron-	Heart	Cardiology
Cost-	Rib	Costal cartilage
Crani/o-	Brane	Cranium
Cutane-	Skin	Cutaneous
Cyst/o-, Cysti-	Bladder or sac	Cystoscopy
Derm-, Dermat/o-	Skin	Dermatologist
Duoden/o-	Duodenum	Duodenitis
Gastr-	Stomach	Gastrectomy
Gloss-	Tongue	Glossectomy
Hem-, Hema-, Hemat/o-	Blood	Hematopoiesis
Hepat/o-, Hepatico-	Liver	Hepatic portal system
Hist/o-, Histio-	Tissue	Histology
Hyster/o-	Uterus	Hysterectomy
Ileo-	Ileum	Ileostomy
Ichi/o-	Ischium	Ischial tuberosity
Kerat/o-	Corena (eye or skin)	Keratin
Lacrim/o-	Tear	Lacrimal fluid

Lact/o-, Lacti-	Milk	Lactose
Laryng/o-	Larynx	Laryngitis
Lingu/o-	Tongue	Lingual Tonsil
Lip/o-	Fat	Lipolysis
Lymph/o-	Lymp	Lymphocyte
Mamm-, Mast/o-	Breast	Mammary glands
Mening/o-	Meninges	Meningitis
Muscul/o-	Muscle	Musculoskeletal
My/o-	Muscle	Myocardium
Myel/o	Spinal cord or bone marrow	Myelin
Nephr/o-	Kidney	Nephron
Neur/i-, Neur/o-	Nerve	Neuron
Oculo-	Eye	Oculomotor nerve
Onco-	Tumor; Bulk; Volume	Oncogene
Onych/o-	Fingernail; Toenail	Onychodystrophy
Oo-	Egg; Ovary	Oocyte
Oophor/o-	Ovary	Oophorectomy
Op-, Opt-	Vision	Optic nerve
Opthalm/o-	Eye	Opthalmic artery
Orchid/o-, Orchio-	Testis	Orchidectomy
Orth/o-	Straight; Normal; Correct	Orthostatic
Osseo-	Bony	Osseous tissue
Ossi-	Bone	Ossicles
Ost-, Oste/o-	Bone	Osteoporosis
Ot/o-	Ear	Otolaryngologist
Ovar/i-, Ovario-, Ovo-, Ovi-	Ovary	Ovarian follicle
Phalang-	Phalanx	Phalanges
Pharyng/o	Pharynx; Throat	Pharyngeal tonsil
Phleb/o-	Vein	Phlebotomist
Phren/i-, Phreno-, Phrenico-	Diaphragm	Phrenic nerve
Pleur-, Pleur/a-, Pleur/o-	Rib, Pleura	Pleural cavity
Pneum/a-, Pneumat/o-	Air; Lung	Pneumonia
Proct/o-	Anus; Rectum	Procto

Prostat-	Prostate	Prostatectomy
Pseudo-	False	Pseudostratified
Psych/o-, Psyche-	Mind	Psychiatrist
Radio-	Radiation; Radius	Radioisotopes
Ren/o-	Kidney	Renal cortex
Rhin/o-	Nose	Rhinoscope
Salping/o-	Tube	Salpingo-oophorectomy
Sarco-	Muscular; Flesh-like	Sarcomere
Schiz/o-	Split; Cleft	Schizophrenia
Sclera-, Sclero-	Hardness	Sclerosis
Sigmoid/o-	Sigmoid colon	Sigmoidoscopy
Sperma-, spermo-, spermato-	Sperm	Spermatocyte
Splen/o-	Spleen	Splenomegaly
Sten/o-	Narrowed; Blocked	Stenosis
Stern-	Sternum	Sternoclavicular joint
Stom/a-, Stomat/o-	Mouth	Stomatitis
Thorac/o-, Thoracico-	Chest	Thoracic cavity
Thromb/o-	Blood clot	Thrombolytic
Thyr/o-	Thyroid gland	Thyroiditis
Trache/o-	Trachea	Trachealis
Tympan/o-	Eardrum	Tympanic membrane
Ur/o-	Urine	Urologist
Varic/o-	Duct; Blood vessel	Varicose vein
Vasculo-	Blood vessel	Vasculitis
Ven/o-	Vein	Vena cava
Vertbr-	Vertebra; Spine	Vertebral column

COLOR PREFIXES

Chlor/o-	Green	Chlorophyll
Chrom-, Chromato-	Color	Chromosome
Cyano-	Blue	Cyanosis
Erythr/o-	Red	Erythrocyte
Leuk/o-	White	Leukocyte
Melan/o-	Black	Melanin

PHYSICAL PROPERTY and PREFIXES

Cry/o-	Cold	Cryotherapy
Elect-	Electrical activity	Electrocardiogram
Kin/o-, Kine-, Kinesi/o-	Movement	Kinetic energy
Kyphy/o-	Humped	Kyphosis
Rhabd/o-	Rod-shaped; Sriated	Rhabdomyosarcoma
Phot/o-	Light	Photoreceptor
Reticul/o-	Net	Reticulocytes
Scoli/o-	Twisted	Scoliosis
Therm/o-	Heat	Thermotherapy

DIRECTION and POSITION PREFIXES

Ab-, Abs-	Away from	Abductor
Ad-	Towards	Adductor
Ante-	Before; Forward	Antenatal
Circum-	Around	Circumcision
Cycl-	Circle; Cycle	Cyclic neutropenia
De-	Away from ; Ending	Dehydration
Dia-	Across; Through	Diagnosis
Ect/o-, Exo-	Outer; Outside	Exocrine gland
End/o-, Ent-, Enter/o	Within; Inner	Endocrine gland
Epi-	Upon; Outside of	Epidermis
Ex-, Extra-	Beyond	Expiration
Infra-	Beneath; Below	Infratemporal fossa
Intra-	Within	Intracellular fluid
Meso-	Middle	Mesoderm
Meta-	Beyond; Change	Metabolism
Para-	Alongside; Abnormal	Parathyroid glands
Path/o-	Disease	Pathologist
Peri-	Around	Pericardium
Post-	Behind; After	Postpartum
Pre-	Before; In front	Precancerous
Retro-	Backward; Behind	Retropreitoneum
Sub-	Under	Subcutaneous layer
Super-	Above	Superior
Supra-	Above; Upon	Supraglottis
Sy-, Syl-, Sym-, Syn-, Sys-	Together	Syndrome
Trans-	Across; Through	Transdermal

QUANTITY PREFIXES

BI-	Two	Biceps
Brady-	Slow	Bradycardia
Diplo-	Double	Diploid
Hemi-	Half	Hemihypertrophy
Hetero-	Other; Different	Heterogeneous
Homo-	Same	Homozygous genotype
Hyper-	Above; Beyond; Excessive	Hypertension
Hypo-	Under; Deficient	Hypotension
Iso-	Equal; Like	Isointense
Macro-	Large; Long; Big	Macrophage
Mic-, Micro-	Small	Microglia
Mon-, Mono-	One	Monocyte
Olig/o-	Few; Little	Oliguria
Poly-	Many; Excessive	Polyuria
Quadri-	Four	Quadriceps
Semi-	Half	Semilunar valves
Tachy-	Fast	Tachycardia
Tetra-	Four	Tetralogy of Fallot
Tri-	Three	Triceps
Uni-	One	Unicellular