Medical terms

[naintraining]

Can someone explain roots, prefixes, and suffixes?

the example in the book states: the root derm or derma means skin. The suffix itis mean inflammation. Dermatitis is an inflammation of the skin.

but I don't understand why itis is a suffix for inflammation and not for dermatitis.... And I don't understand why derm or derma means skin....

i just started school to be become a na and I don't know anything about being a na so I'm a blank slate. Any advise would be great.

[EricJRN, MSN, RN]

-itis is the suffix in dermatitis, but that suffix means inflammation. Dermat- (skin) plus -itis (inflammation) = dermatitis (inflammation of the skin).

Am I understanding your question correctly?

[naintraining]

I guess what I really don't understand is how they come up with the suffixes, presuffixes. Is it just words you'll learn later on like the abbreviations?

[EricJRN, MSN, RN]

A lot of times the roots are taken from Greek or Latin. It's not a bad idea to become familiar with the most common ones. That will help you to figure out the meaning of lots of English medical terms.

Here's a long list of a bunch of them:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_medical_roots,_suffixes_and_prefixes

[naintraining]

Thank you!

[Peanut&Buttercup]

Medical terminology is much like learning a new language. You already use roots, suffixes and prefixes, but in "regular" English so you probably don't even think about it or realize it. That "not thinking about it" will eventually come with medical words too.

So, prefixes ALWAYS are at the beginning of a word. A word might not have a prefix, but if it does, it'll be at the beginning (there might be more than one so it might not be first, but it's before the root)

When you say "semiretired" or "retest" you are using prefixes ("semi-" and "re-"). When you see "re-" for example you know that it means "again" so:

Retest: test again

Reschedule: schedule again

Replace: place again

The same idea holds for suffixes, except they are ALWAYS at the end of the word (always after the root). A word might not have a suffix, but if it does, it'll be at the end. Happily, gladly, angrily, etc all have the suffix "-ly" which means "characteristic of." "-itis" is also a suffix, but probably not one you are familiar with...yet.

You'll notice that both suffixes and prefixes modify something. That something is the root. That root also always means the same thing. So, when I say "retest" the root is "test." No matter what suffixes or prefixes I put around "test" that root always means the same thing.

So, if I say retest, testable, post-test, or tester, you know what the word means because you know what the root (test) and the suffixes (-able, -er) and prefixes (re-, post-) mean.

When you learn medical terminology, you are simply learning new prefixes, suffixes and roots. You'll see words that seem impossible, but if you know the prefixes, suffixes and roots, it becomes super easy.

Like osteoarthritis. Yikes! But, you will learn that osteo- means bone, -itis means inflammation and arthro- means pertaining to the joints. By breaking it down, you can figure out what a word means.

Same with dermatitis. Derma pertaining to the skin and -itis is inflammation. Once you know derma, and a bunch of prefixes and suffixes, you can easily figure out dermatology, dermal, hypodermal, intradermal, subdermally, and epidermis all mean.

Good luck!

[DawnD]

After graduation I almost forgot all the terminologies, need to revise them, coz one can't be called a nurse without knowing medical language.