Breaking Down Words
Chapter 9: Deconstruction Junction: Breaking Down Words
Remember abduction, a kidnapping, or being taken away, as a memory key to tell the two apart.
Another example is the prefix dys-, often used in medical terms. Think of dys- functional (not the dis in discomfort). Dys- used as a prefix in front of a medical term means “difficult,” “bad,” or “painful.”
The prefix inter-, meaning “between or among,” is often mistaken for intra-, which means “within or inside.” Think of an interstate highway, winding between and among states. For intra-, think of an intrauterine contraceptive device, used within or inside the uterus.
The definition of a prefix is always the same, no matter what it’s paired with.
Each time you see intra- before a root word, it always means “within or inside of.” Inter- always means “between or among.”
Prefixes are joined to a root word without the use of a hyphen, even when a double vowel results as in perioperative, intrauterine. The only exception to this rule is that a hyphen is used when the prefix joins up with a proper name:
non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Defining the root word
The root word describes the body parts involved in the medical term. Take a look at some common examples.
✓ Arthro: Joint
✓ Myelo: Bone marrow
✓ Myo: Muscle
✓ Neuro: Nerve
✓ Osteo: Bone
As always, a little memory work is needed here.
Medical terms always have a suffix but not always a prefix. Some medical terms have a combination of two or more root words, coupling multiple body parts together: hepatospleno comes from hepato (liver) and spleno (spleen).
Identifying the combining vowel
The combining vowel, usually an o, joins the root word to a suffix. If a suffix begins with a vowel, the combining vowel o is not used, because it would create a double vowel.
Take the root word neuro (for “nerve,” right?) as an example. Let’s join it to the suffix -itis, which means “inflammation.” Using the combining vowel o to join these together, we would have neuroitis, which is not only difficult to pronounce but also contains a double vowel. Therefore, the o is dropped, and inflammation of a nerve becomes neuritis.
Defining the suffix
As you know, the suffix indicates a procedure, disease, disorder, or condi- tion, and you look at it first. For example, the suffix -itis is common. It means
“inflammation,” so every time you see -itis, you know it means something is inflamed. Taking a word that we know — tonsil — we know that tonsillitis means “inflammation of the tonsil.” Gastr/o is the root word for “stomach,” so gastritis is “inflammation of the stomach.”
The commonly used suffix -ectomy means “surgical removal or excision of.”
When you put -ectomy with tonsil, you have tonsillectomy, removal of the tonsils. Gastrectomy would therefore be what? Right: Surgical removal of the stomach (yikes).
The word tonsil (or tonsils) has only one l, but when we make it into a combin- ing form such as tonsillitis or tonsillectomy, the l is doubled. Tonsillitis is a com- monly misspelled medical word. More memory work!
Suffixes as “adjectives” help describe the root word. For instance, the suffixes -al, -ic, -ous, and -eal are all suffixes that mean “pertaining to.” The suffix -ologist refers to “one who studies or practices a specialized medical field.” The suffix -ology is “the study of.” The common suffix -pathy means “disease.”
Take an easily identifiable root word, cardio or cardiac, meaning “heart,” and apply different suffixes. Cardiology is the study of heart diseases. The cardiol- ogist is the physician who practices cardiology, and cardiopathy means some form of heart disease. Neurology, then, is the study of nerves or the nervous system, and the neurologist is the physician who specializes in neurology.
Any disease of the nervous system or the nerves is neuropathy.
95
Chapter 9: Deconstruction Junction: Breaking Down Words
Going Deeper into Suffixes
Check out some more suffix examples. Suffixes related to procedures include -centesis, referring to surgical puncture to remove fluid for diagnostic pur- poses or to remove excess fluid. That means abdominocentesis is surgical puncture of the abdominal cavity.
The suffix -ectomy means “surgical removal of.” When you see -ectomy at the end of any term, no matter how long or how difficult or confusing the first part of the word is, it means surgical removal of something. Another term we all know that end in -ectomy is appendectomy, surgical removal of the appendix.
But, sadly, it’s not always that easy. Take a look at a more complicated word and then break it down. How about the word salpingo-oophorectomy? The -ectomy we know indicates the surgical removal of something. But what?
Salpingo is the root word referring to the fallopian tube; oophoro is the root word for ovary. Therefore, salpingo-oophorectomy is surgical removal of a fallo- pian tube and ovary. Surgical removal of an ovary only would be oophorectomy.
The shrewd among you may have noticed this: There is a hyphen in salpingo- oophorectomy. This is there mainly to aid with pronunciation and to avoid a triple “o” vowel with the combining of the two roots. The word can also be expressed as oophorosalpingectomy, which means the same thing.
Another suffix related to procedures is -graphy, meaning the process of recording a picture or a record. Radiography is the process of recording a pic- ture by radiograph or an X-ray. Suffixes -gram and -graph are used to describe the finished product, the recording or picture. An arteriography is the process of recording the picture of arteries. The arteriogram or arteriograph is the film that is produced by the arteriography.
The suffix -ostomy means to surgically create an artificial opening or stoma. A colostomy is a surgical creation of an opening between the colon and the body surface. The root word colo means colon. The suffix -otomy means “surgical cutting into,” or a surgical incision. In order, then, to perform a tracheostomy (the surgical creation of an opening in the trachea), a tracheotomy (the surgical incision into the trachea) must be performed.
It is important to know the difference between “ostomy” and “otomy” — there is only one letter difference, but a big difference in the meaning.
is when you hear or see -plasty think of the plastic surgeon, because, in most cases, -plasty surgical procedures are performed by the plastic surgeon. A term associated with this suffix is mammoplasty. The root word mammo refers to the breast. A reduction mammoplasty would be surgical reduction in the size of the breast. Another commonly used suffix with regards to procedures is -scopy.
This involves the visual examination of the interior of a body cavity or organ using an endoscope. The endoscope is the instrument, and endoscopy is the actual visual examination being performed with the endoscope.
In medicine today, more and more diagnostic procedures are being performed using the endoscopic method. Endoscopic surgery is less invasive. Small por- tals are made into skin, and the laparoscope provides visualization for exci- sions to be made through these small portals — as opposed to a full thickness, muscle-splitting incision to fully open up (in most cases) the abdominal wall.
Female sterilizations, hysterectomies, gallbladder removal, and appendec- tomies, just to name a few, are now being done laparoscopically. Less time is spent in the hospital, and the recovery period is reduced by as much as a month. For example, a gallbladder removed by routine upper abdominal inci- sion requires a recovery period of four to six weeks; done laparoscopically, with only portals to heal, the time is cut to two weeks.
Suffixes related to conditions are used over and over again. You have already covered a few, but let’s look at some. We have -algia, meaning “pain and suffering.” Arthralgia would refer to the pain and suffering of joints. Myalgia means “pain or suffering in the muscle.” The suffix -dynia also means “pain.”
The word gastrodynia (gastro is a root word for “stomach”) means “pain in the stomach.”
We already know -itis means “inflammation.” You can have gastritis, tonsillitis, laryngitis, thyroiditis, neuritis, cellulitis, dermatitis, colitis, enteritis, and arthritis (though you certainly wouldn’t want to). You could have an -itis of almost any part of your body.
Inflammation has two m’s, but inflamed has one.
The suffix -malacia means “abnormal softening,” most often used referring to bone disorders, but it does mean abnormal softening, and arteriomalacia refers to abnormal softening of the walls of an artery or arteries.
The suffix -megaly means “large” or “enlarged.” It can be coupled with many body parts or organs. Cardiomegaly means enlargement of the heart, spleno- megaly enlargement of a spleen. Hepatomegaly is enlargement of the liver.
Thyromegaly would be enlargement of the thyroid gland. And hepatosple- nomegaly would be enlargement of the liver and spleen, a double-barreled root word.
97
Chapter 9: Deconstruction Junction: Breaking Down Words
The suffix -osis means “a disease or abnormal condition,” a general suffix associated with many of the root words. Gastrosis means a disease (any disease) of the stomach. Scoliosis is a curvature of the spine. Diverticulosis means outpouchings of the intestinal wall. Psychosis (psyche is the root word for “mind”) covers many varieties of mental disorders.
Adding Up Individual Word Meanings
Just as in a math problem, you can add up the parts of a word and get one coherent answer, one complete meaning. Here’s one example to get you started: Break the word gastroenterologist into root words and suffixes:
gastroenterologist = gastro + entero + logist
Look at the suffix first: -logist says this is a person, the physician. Now go back to the beginning. Gastro is the root word for stomach, and entero is the root word for intestines. Broken down, then, a gastroenterologist is a physician who studies and treats diseases of the stomach and intestines, performing a medical service known as gastroenterology.
With two root words, the meaning of both root words must be researched to know the true meaning of the term.
Let’s take a trip through the body to find some not so easy terms. Using the rules of dissection, you should be able decipher some brainteasers.
✓ Ana/tomy: -tomy (“process of cutting”) + ana (“apart”) = study of body structure (to study, one must cut up or dissect)
✓ Auto/opsy: -opsy (“to view”) + auto (“self”) = examination of body after death (yes, it’s a stretch)
✓ Bio/logy: -logy (“the study of”) + bio (“life”) = study of living things ✓ Cerebro/malacia: -malacia (“softening”) + cerebro (“brain”) = softening
of the brain
✓ Cerebro/vascul/ar: -ar (“pertaining to”) + cerebro (“brain”) + vasculo (“vessel”) = pertaining to the brain and blood vessels
✓ Choledocho/litho/tripsy: -tripsy (“crushing”) + choledocho (“common bile duct of the gallbladder”) + litho (“stone”) = crushing of stones in the common bile duct of the gallbladder
✓ Chondro/malacia: -malacia (“softening”) + chondro (“cartilage”) = soft- ening of cartilage
✓ Chondr/oma: -oma (“mass or tumor”) + chondro (“cartilage”) = tumor of cartilage
lage”) = pertaining to the ribs and cartilage
✓ Crani/otomy: -otomy (“cutting into”) + cranio (“skull”) = cutting into the skull
✓ Dermat/itis: -itis (“inflammation”) + dermato (“skin”) = inflammation of the skin
✓ Dermato/plasty: -plasty (“surgical reconstruction”) + dermato (“skin”) = surgical reconstruction of the skin
✓ Encephalo/pathy: -pathy (“disease”) + encephalo (“brain”) = brain disease ✓ Glyc/emia: -emia (“blood condition”) + glyco (“sugar”) = sugar in the
blood
Then, by adding prefixes to glycemia, we get
Hyper/glyc/emia: -hyper (“excessive”) = excessive sugar in blood Hypo/glyc/emia: -hypo (“insufficient”) = insufficient or low amount of
sugar in the blood
✓ Hemi/gastr/ectomy: -ectomy (“surgical removal of”) + hemi (“half”) + gastro (“stomach”) = surgical removal of half the stomach
✓ Hemo/lysis: -lysis (“breakdown or distruction”) + hemo (“blood”) = breakdown of blood
✓ Hemat/emesis: -emesis (“vomiting”) + hemato (“blood”) = vomiting of blood
✓ Hyper/cholesterol/emia: -emia (“blood condition”) + hyper (“excessive or above normal”) + cholesterol = excessive amount of cholesterol in blood
✓ Hyper/hidr/osis: -osis (“abnormal condition”) + hyper (“excessive or above normal”) + hidro (“sweat”) = excessive secretion of sweat or excessive sweating
✓ Hystero/salpingo/gram: -gram (“a record”) + hystero (“uterus”) + salpingo (“fallopian tube”) = X-ray record of the uterus and fallopian tubes
✓ Intra/cranial: -cranial (“pertaining to the skull”) + intra (“within”) = pertaining to within the skull
✓ Labio/glosso/pharyng/eal: - eal (“pertaining to”) + labio (“lips”) + glosso (“tongue”) + pharyngo (“pharynx”) = pertaining to the lips, tongue, and throat
✓ Laryngo/tracheo/bronch/itis: -itis (“inflammation”) + laryngo (“larynx”) + trachea (“trachea”) + broncho (“bronchus”) = inflammation of the larynx, trachea, and bronchus (croup)
99
Chapter 9: Deconstruction Junction: Breaking Down Words
✓ Leio/myo/sarcoma: -sarcoma (“malignant tumor”) + leio (“smooth”) + myo (“muscle”) = malignant tumor of smooth muscle
✓ Neur/itis: -itis (“inflammation”) + neuro (“nerve”) = inflammation of a nerve
✓ Para/nasal: -nasal (“pertaining to nose”) + para (“beside or near”) = beside or near the nose
✓ Peri/neur/itis: -itis (“inflammation”) + peri (“around”) + neuro (“nerve”) = inflammation around a nerve
✓ Post/mortem: -mortem (“death”) + post (“following or after”) = after death
✓ Presby/opia: -opia (“vision”) + presby (“old age”) = vision impaired due to aging
✓ Presbycusis: -cusis (“hearing”) + presby (“old age”) = diminished hearing due to aging
✓ Thrombo/phleb/itis: -itis (“inflammation”) + thrombo (“clot”) + phlebo (“vein”) = inflammation of a vein with clot formation