1.2 Basic Word Structure
Word Parts
Veterinary medical terms are built from word parts, which are also called component parts. These parts are prefix, word root, suffix, and combining vowel. When a word root is put together with a combining vowel, the word part is referred to as a combining form.
Below you will see definitions of the component parts of medical terms. Throughout this chapter, and the book as a whole, you will learn many different word parts and apply that knowledge in the activities provided.
Key Concepts
- A prefix goes at the front of a term and changes the meaning.
- Example: dys– means “bad,” “painful,” “difficult,” or “abnormal”
- Notice that a prefix always has a “-” after it when not in a medical term. This lets you know that the prefix needs something after it to be a complete word. Not all medical terms have a prefix.
- A suffix goes at the end of a term and changes the meaning.
- Example: –logy means “study of”
- Notice that a suffix always has a “-” before it when not in a medical term. This lets you know that the suffix needs something before it to be a complete word. All medical terms have a suffix.
- The root gives the essential meaning of the term.
- Example: cardi means “heart”
- A medical term may have one or more roots. In some rare cases, a term may not have a root because the root is embedded in the suffix.
- A combining vowel has no meaning but connects roots to suffixes and roots to other roots.
- A combining vowel is almost always an o, but in some rare cases, it is an i or another vowel.
- This component makes words easier to pronounce.
- If the suffix that is being paired with a root that already begins with a vowel, then no combining vowel is needed.
- A combining form is the combination of the root and the combining vowel.
- Example: Combining the root cardi with a combining vowel creates cardi/o.
- Notice that a combining form has a “/” between the root and the combining vowel. The “/” is not included when the word appears in text.
Once you become more familiar with all the common word parts, you will be able to use this knowledge to break down any medical term into its component parts and determine its meaning. Although you have just started learning medical terminology, the example below demonstrates how a medical term can be broken apart so you can understand its meaning.
Example
The medical term, pericardium can be broken into the following component parts:
peri/cardi/um
The prefix peri- means “surrounding,” the root cardi means “heart,” and -um is a suffix that means “structure.” If you put it all together, the term pericardium means “a structure surrounding the heart.” Note that there is no combining vowel in this term because the end of the root and the beginning of the suffix are already vowels.
Exercise
Attribution
Unless otherwise indicated, material on this page has been adapted from the following resources:
Sturdy, L., & Erickson, S. (2022). The language of medical terminology. Open Education Alberta. https://pressbooks.openeducationalberta.ca/medicalterminology/, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
goes at the front of the term and changes the meaning.
gives the essential meaning of the term
goes at the end of the term and changes the meaning
A single vowel, usually an o, sometimes an i, added to the end of a root to make the word easier to pronounce
is the combination of the root and the combining vowel
