Introduction
Welcome to the Introduction to Veterinary Terminology
Open Educational Resource
Medical terminology is commonly used in most medical settings, including veterinary clinics. This language is based on Greek and Latin terms and veterinary terminology is a subset of medical terminology. Just like learning a new language, it can be a daunting task. The primary objective of this OER is to introduce you to the medical terms in a simple and easy to understand format. This resource was designed as an introductory medical terminology course for the Veterinary Office Assistants at NorQuest College; however, it is likely to be useful for individuals in other veterinary medical settings as well.
To assist with learning the complex language of veterinary medical terminology, each chapter has embedded H5P activities, including a final chapter review. We have also included content on abbreviations, common procedures and species-specific terms. We hope that this textbook will provide a thorough overview of not only medical terminology, but also introduce connections to other veterinary topics.
How to Use This OER
Learning medical terminology requires a lot of commitment. In order to get the full benefits of this textbook, daily review is important. Using the review exercises and activities in the chapters will help you learn and remember the content. In addition, we suggest creating flashcards with suffixes, prefixes, and combining forms to help you recall what you have learned.
For instructors, our hope is that you can use the content and adapt it as necessary for your own programs and courses.
Attribution
A number of open educational textbooks and other reference material were used in the creation of this resource. The works listed below are those most often referenced in this OER. For each chapter, attribution is provided for these and other resources that were used.
- Sturdy, L., & Erickson, S. (2022). The language of medical terminology. Open Education Alberta. https://pressbooks.openeducationalberta.ca/medicalterminology/Licensed under CC BY 4.0
- Carter, K., & Rutherford, M. (2020). Building a medical terminology foundation. eCampusOntario. https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/medicalterminology/ licensed under CC BY 4.0
- Jackson-Osagie, E., Anspaugh, K., Smith, S. Q., & Goncalves, S. (2022). Medical terminology: An interactive approach. https://louis.pressbooks.pub/medicalterminology/ Licensed under CC BY 4.0
- Molnar, C., & Gair, J. (2015). Concepts of biology – 1st Canadian edition. BCcampus. https://opentextbc.ca/biology/ Licensed under CC BY 4.0
Image Credits
(Images are listed in order of appearance)
Cover Image: Puppy Archie by Kelly Robertson, NorQuest College, used with permission.
This resource was produced by NorQuest College in partnership with the University of Alberta Library’s Open Education Alberta publishing project.
