MCPHS Medical Terminology Final
ot/o - combining form: ear
Anterior - Surface region of the body, front (or ventral), including thoracic, abdominal, and pelvic
cavities.
posterior - Surface region of the body, back (or dorsal), cranial and spinal cavities.
prone - lying face down, anterior part of the body down
supine - lying face up, posterior part of the body down
posterioranterior (PA) - type of x-ray, beam passes through the patient back to front
superior - upper half of the body, above
inferior - lower half of the body, below
Distal - away from the body
Proximal - towards the body
cephalad - toward the head
caudad - toward the tailbone, downward
lateral - side; away from the midline
,medial - Toward the midline of the body
coronal plane (frontal plane) - divides body into front and back
midsagittal plane - divides the body into equal right and left sides
Transvere Plane - divides body into top and bottom
sagittal plane - divides body into left and right sides, not evenly
ac - suffix: pertaining to, ex. cardiac
al - suffix: pertaining to, ex. intestinal
ar - suffix: pertaining to, ex. muscular
ary - suffix: pertaining to, ex. urinary
ic - suffix: pertaining to, ex. pelvic
ine - suffix: pertaining to, ex. uterine
ive - suffix: pertaining to, ex. digestive
ous - suffix: pertaining to, ex. venous
ation - suffix: process, having, being
,ion - suffix: action, condition
ia - suffix: condition, state, thing
ism - suffix: disease from a specific cause
itis - suffix: infection of, inflammation of
megaly - suffix: enlargement
oma - suffix: mass, tumor
osis - suffix: abnormal condition, process, ex. psychosis
pathy - suffix: disease
ecotmy - suffix: surgical removal
gram - suffix: picture, record
graphy - suffix: process of recording
metry - suffix: process of measuring
scope - suffix: instrument used to examine
scopy - suffix: process of using an instrument to examine
, therapy - suffix: treatment
tomy - suffix: process of cutting, making an incision
iarty - suffix: medical treatment
ics - suffix: knowledge, practice, ex. dietetics
endo - prefix: innermost, within
epi - prefix: above, upon
inter - prefix: between
intra - prefix: within
peri - prefix: around
post - prefix: after, behind
pre - prefix; before, in front of
sub - prefix: below, underneath
trans - prefix: across, through
bi - prefix: two
