2 Chapter 2: Remaining Introductory Materials
Chapter 2:
Introduction:
Chapter Two finishes your introduction to the basic infrastructure of medical and scientific morphemes. Listed below are the remainder of the most general, most commonly used, and most basic morphemes which we will be relying on for the whole semester.
| Technical Term | Definition | Type | Notes: | Sample sentence: |
| a-, an- | lack, absence, not | prefix | If followed by a vowel, anencephaly; if followed by a consonant, aphonia. Same rules as “an apple” and “a banana” in common English. | Anaerobic bacteria thrive when there is a lack of oxygen. |
| -agogue, -gogue | a substance that induces the flow of | termination | It does not mean ‘produce.’ | A sialogogue induces the flow of saliva. |
| -al | adjective ending | suffix | There are many varieties of chromosomal mutations. | |
| all- | other, another’s | prefix | Often the opposite of aut- (Ch 2), | Autosmia is the recognition of one’s own body odor; allosmia is the recognition of someone else’s body odor. |
| ambi- | both | prefix | Synonymous, but not interchangeable, with amphi- (Ch 2). | She was feeling ambivalent: both happy and angry. |
| amphi- | both | prefix | Synonymous, but not interchangeable, with ambi- (Ch 2). | An amphibian lives both in the water and on the land. |
| aut- | own, one’s own | prefix | Often the opposite of all- (Ch 2). | An autopsy is when a physician takes a look of their own–at a corpse. |
| bar- | weight, pressure, air pressure | base form | With the termination -meter/-metry, it must mean air pressure. | Bariatric medicine pertains to the treatment of patients variously impacted by weight. |
| bi- | both or two | prefix | Most dentists recommend biannual checkups. | |
| capn- | smoke generally or Carbon Dioxide | base form | typically Carbon Dioxide | A capnometer measures the carbon dioxide levels in a patient’s blood. |
| chron- | time | base form | A diachronic study takes place over time. | |
| contra- | against | prefix | Synonymous with, but not usually interchangeable with, anti- (Ch 1). | Pregnancy is usually a contraindication for x-rays. |
| dia- | across, through, over | prefix | A diachronic study takes place over time. | |
| dolich- | abnormally long and narrow | base form | One of the symptoms of thalidomide poisoning is congenital dolichodactyly. | |
| -ectasia or -ectasis | abnormal dilation, dilatation, distention | termination | Fetal pyelectasis is quite common. | |
| endo- | inside, within | prefix | Often, but not always, interchangeable with ento- (Ch 2). Not usually interchangeable with intra- (Ch 2). | An endoscope is an instrument used to examine inside someone. |
| ento | inside, within | prefix | Often, but not always, interchangeable with endo- (Ch 2). Not usually interchangeable with intra- (Ch 2). | Entognathous insects retract their jaws inside their heads. |
| epi- | upon, on top of, on | prefix | Epinephrine is produced by glands on top of the kidneys. | |
| eu- | good, great, nominal | prefix | Eutocia is a normal and good birthing process. | |
| galac-, galact-, galax- | milk | base form | Mastitis may result in agalactia. | |
| ge- | earth, the earth, dirt | base form | One form of pica is geophagy. | |
| -geusia | taste, flavor, sensation of taste | termination | Two Covid symptoms are ageusia and anosmia. | |
| graph- | ||||
| -graph | an instrument for imaging | termination | imaging, not taking an image or taking a picture. | A electrocardiograph images the heart via electrical activity. |
| -graphy | the process of using an instrument for imaging | termination | Electrocardiography employs an electrocardiograph to image the heart. | |
| -gram | the record our output of the process of using an instrument for imaging | termination | An electrocardiograph produces an electrocardiogram. | |
| helic- | shaped like a helix, a spiral | base form | DNA is helicoid or like a spiral. | |
| heli- | the sun | base form | Some forms of psoriasis may be treated by heliotherapy. | |
| hemi- | half | base form | A hemisphere is half a globe, or sphere. | |
| hidr- | sweat | base form | Do not confuse with the homophone hydr- (Ch 2). Treated as if it starts with a vowel. | Anhidrosis may be caused by radiation poisoning. |
| hyal- | glass, vitreous humor | base form | Pathological | Asteroid hyalosis is a degenerative condition of the eyes. |
| vitr- | glass, vitreous humor | base form | Descriptive | The gelatinous tissue of the eye is called vitreous because it is as clear as glass. |
| hydr- | generic fluid | base form | Do not confuse with the homophone hidr- (Ch 2). | Hydrocephaly is the abnormal presence of excess fluid in the head. |
| hygr- | moisture, fluid, or humidity | base form | Atmospheric humidity is measured with a hygrometer. | |
| hypn- | sleep or hypnosis | base form | Hypnolepsy, more commonly called narcolepsy, is excessive weariness or a compulsion to sleep experienced during the day. | |
| narc- | sleep or numbness or psychotropic drugs or sometimes illicit drugs | base form | ||
| nyct- | sleep | base form | pathological | An urge to urinate strong enough to interrupt sleep is nycturia. |
| in- | in or into | prefix | An injection is the transmission of a substance into a body. | |
| inter- | between or among | prefix | Intervenous yellowing on the leaves of a tree may be a sign of poor soil condition. | |
| intra- | within or inside | prefix | Synonymous, but not usually interchangeable with, endo- and ento- (Ch 2). | An intravenous injection pushes a substance inside a vein. |
| juxta- | next to, near to | prefix | The juxtacolic artery is next to the colon. | |
| ad- | next to, near to | prefix | The adrenal glands are next to the kidneys. | |
| kinesi- | motion, movement | base form | Kinesiology is the study of movement. | |
| lip- | fat, fatty tissue | base form | A lipoma is a fatty, benign tumor. | |
| -malacia | abnormal softening | termination | One symptom of malnutrition is the abnormal softening of the nails, or onychomalacia. | |
| muc, muci | mucus (English noun), mucous (English adjective) | base form | These three are a mess. Just view my explanation in the lecture. | The mucous membranes secrete mucus. |
| blenn- | mucus, mucous | base form | The abnormal discharge of mucus is mucorrhea, blennorrhea, and also muxorrhea. | |
| mux- | mucus, mucous | base form | ||
| myc- | fungus | base form | The study of fungus is mycology. | |
| neo- | new, abnormally new, or surgically created | prefix | Certain cancer treatments include a protectomy; surgeons may then create a neorectum. | |
| -oid | resembling | suffix | A mess. Check the lecture. | An android resembles a man. |
| -form | resembling | suffix | The vermiform appendix resembles a worm. | |
| -morph | form, shape, structure, or resemblance | base form or suffix | Something without shape is amorphous. | |
| olig- | abnormally few | base form | Opposite of poly- (Ch 2). | The condition of having fewer than five fingers is oligodactyly. |
| -oma | generally, a benign growth or tumor | suffix | A lipoma is a benign tumor comprised of fatty tissue. | |
| -carcinoma | generally, a malignant tumor derived from epithelial cells. | termination | An adenoma is a benign growth in a gland; an adenocarcinoma is malignant cancer originating in glandular tissue. | |
| -sarcoma | generally, a malignant tumor derived from mesenchymal cells. | termination | An osteoma is a benign bone growth; an osteosarcoma is malignant cancer originating in bone tissue. | |
| pach(y)- | abnormally thick | base form | A fancy old term for elephants is pachyderm because, compared to most mammals, they have abnormally thick skin. | |
| -pexy | the fixation, or reattachment of something that is ptotic, drooping, or displaced, to its nominal location. | termination | 1) -pexy addresses -ptosis (Ch 2).
2) Fixation means reattaching. It does not mean fixing (as in repairing). -plasty =/= -pexy. |
Splenopexy addresses splenoptosis. |
| pharmac- | drugs (generally) | base form | drugs (illicit) is narc- (Ch 2) | A pharmacist is a specialist in drugs. |
| -plegia | paralysis or abnormal weakness | suffix | Ophthalmoplegia may be caused by certain types of cerebral tumors. | |
| poly- | abnormally many | prefix | Opposite of olig- (Ch 2) | The condition of having more than five fingers on one hand is polydactyly. |
| extra- | abnormally many or excessive | prefix | Complicated. See lecture for all three. | |
| multi- | abnormally many | prefix | ||
| post- | after | prefix | The opposite of ante- (Ch 1) and pre- (Ch 2) | Postnatal care occurs after a child’s birth. |
| pre- | before | prefix | Often interchangeable with ante- (Ch 1). | Prenatal care occurs before a child’s birth. |
| -ptosis | The prolapse, the sagging, the detachment from nominal position. | termination | Addressed by -pexy (Ch 2). | Splenoptosis is resolved by splenopexy. |
| The nasty r-terminations: | ||||
| -rraphy | the suturing of | termination | Splenorraphy is the suturing of the spleen. | |
| -rrhagia, -rrhagy, -rrhage | the abnormal discharge of usually blood | termination | Splenorragia is the abnormal discharge of blood, or a hemorrhage, from the spleen. | |
| -rrhea | the abnormal discharge of nonspecific fluids (potentially blood) | termination | Rhinorrhea is the abnormal discharge of fluids from the nose: a runny nose. | |
| -rrhexis | the rupture, bursting, or tearing of | termination | Gastrorrhexis is the the tearing of the stomach. | |
| -staxis | A slow discharge of blood from | termination | Mostly obsolete but I’ve seen it enough I want to include it alongside the nasty r-terminations. | Enterostaxis is the persistent, slow, discharge of blood in the small intestine. |
| top- | place, location | base form | Topology is the study of a place or of places. |