Table Of Content845500FM.qxd 8/19/08 7:17 PM Page i
Medical Terminology
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Staff The clinical treatments described and recommended in this pub-
lication are based on research and consultation with nursing,
Executive Publisher medical, and legal authorities. To the best of our knowledge,
these procedures reflect currently accepted practice. Neverthe-
Judith A. Schilling McCann, RN, MSN
less, they can’t be considered absolute and universal recom-
Editorial Director mendations. For individual applications, all recommendations
David Moreau must be considered in light of the patient’s clinical condition and,
before administration of new or infrequently used drugs, in light
Clinical Director
of the latest package-insert information. The authors and pub-
Joan M. Robinson, RN, MSN lisher disclaim any responsibility for any adverse effects result-
Art Director ing from the suggested procedures, from any undetected errors,
or from the reader’s misunderstanding of the text.
Mary Ludwicki
Electronic Project Manager © 2009 by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved. This
John Macalino book is protected by copyright. No part of it may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any
Senior Managing Editor
means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or other-
Jaime Stockslager Buss, MSPH,ELS wise—without prior written permission of the publisher, except
for brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews and
Clinical Project Manager
testing and evaluation materials provided by the publisher to in-
Lorraine M. Hallowell, RN, BSN, RVS structors whose schools have adopted its accompanying text-
Editors book. Printed in the United States of America. For information,
Karen Comerford, Liz Schaeffer write Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 323 Norristown Road, Suite
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Indexer
Barbara Hodgson
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Medical terminology made incredibly easy!. — 3rd ed.
p. ; cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Medicine. — Terminology. 2. Medical sciences. —
Terminology. I. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
[DNLM: 1. Terminology as Topic. W 15 M4887 2009]
R123.M394 2009
610.1'4--dc22
ISBN-13: 978-0-7817-8845-8 (alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-7817-8845-5 (alk. paper) 2008011400
845500FM.qxd 8/19/08 7:17 PM Page iii
Contents
Contributors and consultants iv
Not another boring foreword v
1 Key concepts of medical terminology 1
2 Body structure 19
3 Skeletal system 41
4 Muscular system 69
5 Integumentary system 91
6 Cardiovascular system 117
7 Respiratory system 143
8 Gastrointestinal system 171
9 Urinary system 197
10 Reproductive system 219
11 Maternal health 243
12 Neurologic system 267
13 Endocrine system 299
14 Blood and lymphatic system 319
15 Sensory system 339
16 Pharmacology 359
17 Mental health 385
Selected references 405
Index 406
iii
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Contributors and consultants
Helen Christina Ballestas, RN, MSN, Julia Anne Isen, RN, BS, MSN, FNP-C Donna Scemons, RN, MSN, FNP-C,
CRRN, PHD[C] FNP-C Primary Care CNS, CWOCN
Nursing Faculty University of California, San Francisco Nurse Practitioner
New York Institute of Technology Healthcare Systems, Inc.
Old Westbury Hope Siddons Knight, RN, BSN Castaic, Calif.
Nursing Faculty
Kim Davis,MSN Redlands Community College Marilyn D. Sellers, APRN, BC, MSN
ICU Nurse Manager El Reno, Okla. FNP – Behavioral Science/Mental Health
Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center VA Medical Center
Charleston, S.C. Megan McClintock, RN, BSN Hampton, Va.
Nursing Faculty
Vivian C. Gamblian, RN, MSN Redlands Community College Connie K. Smith, RN, MS
Nursing Faculty El Reno, Okla. Clinical Education Coordinator
Baylor University Memorial Hospital of Union County
Louise Herrington School of Nursing Aaron Pack, RN, BSN Marysville, Ohio
Dallas, Tex. Nursing Informatics Specialist
Redlands Community College Jennifer K. Sofie, APRN, MSN
Donna Headrick, RN, MSN, FNP El Reno, Okla. Adjunct Assistant Professor & Nurse
Taft Community College Practitioner
Advanced Cosmetic Dermatology Noel C. Piano, RN, MS Montana State University
Bakersfield, Calif. Instructor/Coordinator Bozeman
Lafayette School of Practical Nursing
Shelley Huffstutler-Hawkins, DSN, Williamsburg, Va. Benita Walton-Moss, APRN, BC, DNS
APRN-BC, FNP, GNP, FAANP Adjunct Faculty Associate Professor
Post Doctoral Fellow Thomas Nelson Community College Johns Hopkins University School of
University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill Hampton, Va. Nursing
School of Nursing Baltimore, Md.
Angela R. Roughley, RN
Registered Nurse – Critical Care Unit
Deaconess Hospital
Oklahoma City, Okla.
iv
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Not another boring foreword
If you’re like me, you’re too busy caring for your patients to have
the time to wade through a foreword that uses pretentious terms
and umpteen dull paragraphs to get to the point. So let’s cut right
to the chase! Here’s why this book is so terrific:
It will teach you all the important things you need to know
about medical terminology. (And it will leave out all the fluff that
wastes your time.)
It will help you remember what you’ve learned.
It will make you smile as it enhances your knowledge and
skills.
Don’t believe me? Try these recurring logos on for size:
Pump up your pronunciation—charts at the
beginning of each chapter that help you “talk to the
walk” by sounding out the most difficult terms
Anatomically speaking—anatomic images that bring
you face to face with the structures you’re trying to
pronounce
Beyond the dictionary—sidebars on the origins of
words, which can help you remember and dissect
their meanings
The real world—tidbits on more informal
terminology that you may hear used in daily practice.
v
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vi FOREWORD
See? I told you! And that’s not all. Look for me and my
friends in the margins throughout this book. We’ll be
there to explain key concepts, provide
important care reminders, and offer
reassurance. Oh, and if you don’t mind,
we’ll be spicing up the pages with a bit of
humor along the way, to teach and
entertain in a way that no other resource
can.
I hope you find this book helpful. Best
of luck throughout your career!
Joy
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1
Key concHepetaslt ohf a msseedsicsaml etenrtminology
Just the facts
In this chapter, you’ll learn:
♦ dissection of medical terms
♦ meaning determination of medical terms using
roots, prefixes, and suffixes.
Dissecting medical terms
Because many medical terms derive from Greek and
Latin, learning medical terminology is like learning a new
language. Understanding these terms can be easier if you Deciphering
know how to analyze key elements and identify word as- medical
sociations. terminology
requires
Take it apart deduction, my
dear Watson.
Most medical terms are a combination of two or more
parts. If you can successfully interpret each part, you can
usually grasp the essential meaning of the word. Thus, in-
terpreting the meaning of a medical term requires knowl-
edge of common medical roots, prefixes, and suffixes.
Root it out
A rootis the essential component of a word. Many med-
ical roots signify a disease, procedure, or body part.
Some roots appear at the beginning of a word, whereas
others appear after a prefix, before a suffix, or between a
prefix and a suffix. In addition, two or more roots may be
combined to form a word, as incardi-o-pulmonaryand
cardi-o-vascular.The letter ois the most commonly
used combining vowel.
Here are some examples of roots used in different
positions:
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KEY CONCEPTS OF MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY
2
• a root at the beginning of a word—angioedema (angi
is a root that means vessel)
• a root in the middle of a word—encephalic (cephal is
a root that means head)
• a root at the end of a word—scleroderma (dermis a
root that means skin) If you can
understand the
• a combination of roots—phototherapy(photois a
building blocks, then
root that means light;therapyis a root that means treat-
you’ll have the
ment). foundation for
learning even the
In the beginning
most complicated
A prefix consists of one or more letters attached to the medical terminology.
beginning of a root. Many prefixes used for medical terms
are also applied to standard English vocabulary. To deter-
mine the meaning of a prefix in a medical term,
consider a familiar word that begins with the
same prefix. For example, the prefix anti-has
the same meaning—against—in both antislavery
and antihistamine, literally against slavery and
againsthistamine (the compound that produces
allergic reactions).
At last
A suffix is one or more letters attached to the end
of a root. When a suffix begins with a consonant,
a combining vowel, such as o,is placed before
the suffix. Common use of suffixes in medical ter-
minology includes adding a -yto a word to de-
note a procedure, such as gastroscopy,which
means endoscopic examination of the stomach.
Similarly, adding -lyto a word denotes an act or
process; for example, splenomegaly,which
means the abnormal enlargement of the spleen.
Break it down; build it up
With a bit of practice, you’ll quickly discover how
easy it can be to interpret the parts of a medical
term and then combine them to identify the
term’s meaning. For example, in acrocyanosis,
the root acr(extremities)and the vowel oare
combined with the root cyan(blue)and the suf-
fix -osis(condition)to form a term that means a
condition characterized by blue extremities.
(For another example of how to dissect a medical
term to decipher its meaning, see ’Dem bones.)
