Those rules are:Ī word root links a suffix that begins with a vowel.Ī combining form (WR + CV) links a suffix that begins with a consonant. The definitions sometimes have to be refined, but you can use the last, first, middle method of defining a medical term to get a good sense of what the word means.Ĭonvention has us follow three rules for building medical words.

When put together, you get the definition for macro/card/ia: a condition of a large heart. Next, define the middle part of the word which in this case is a word root, card. Next, define the first part of the word which in this case is a prefix, macro. Define the suffix or last part of the word first. Define the words in this order:Īs an example, look at the word macro/card/ ia. Next, define the first part of the word which may be a word root or a prefix.įinally, define the middle part(s) of the word. In general, you will define the word parts in the following order:ĭefine the suffix or last part of the word first. Defining Medical WordsĪfter you learn prefixes, suffixes, and the word roots related to the various body systems, you will be able to roughly define the medical term by defining the various word parts. Therefore, it is very important to learn the meanings of prefixes to correctly interpret medical terms.īoth prefixes and suffixes are combined with the other basic element of a medical word – the word root/combining form. Therefore, afebrile means without or no fever.Īs you can see, the prefix can completely change the meaning of a word.

If you add the prefix, a- to febrile, the meaning of the word is completely changed because a- means without. When you put these meanings together, prenatal means before birth and postnatal means after birth.Īnother example is febrile, which means with fever. Nat/o is the main part of the word, or combining form, which means birth. Perhaps you are familiar with the terms prenatal and postnatal. Prefixes usually signify a number, time, position, direction, or negation (absence of). When there is a prefix, the prefix serves to modify the word in some manner. As mentioned before, some medical terms will not contain a prefix. At first, this may seem confusing, but it will make sense as the course progresses.Ī prefix is located at the beginning of a word. Not all medical terms contain all three of these elements and some terms contain more than one of each element. There are three basic word elements: prefix, word root (with a combining vowel), and suffix.

Macro medical term