Medical Terminology — Prefixes & Suffixes flashcards

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The prefixes and suffixes that build most medical words: number, size, position, time and color prefixes, plus surgical, diagnostic and pathology suffixes, each with a real example term and the classic look-alike traps.

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Learn deck · part of Medical Terminology · written against: Standard allied-health medical terminology course; The Joint Commission do-not-use list. Updated 2026-10-10.

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mono-

Means one, single.

Example: mononeuropathy — a disorder affecting a single nerve.
Watch out: the Latin uni- also means one, as in unilateral.
Number Prefixes
macro-

Means large.

Example: macrocyte — an abnormally large red blood cell.
Size & Degree Prefixes
inter-

Means between.

Example: intercostal — between the ribs.
Watch out: don't confuse it with intra-, which means within.
Position & Direction Prefixes
brady-

Means slow.

Example: bradycardia — a slower-than-normal heart rate, generally under 60 beats per minute in a resting adult.
Time & Speed Prefixes
leuko-

Means white.

Example: leukocyte — a white blood cell.
Watch out: also spelled leuco-; the combining form is leuk/o.
Color Prefixes
a- / an-

Means without, not, absence of.

Example: apnea — absence of breathing.
Watch out: an- is used before a vowel, as in anemia.
Negation & Quality Prefixes
-ectomy

Means surgical removal, excision.

Example: appendectomy — surgical removal of the appendix.
Surgical Suffixes
-scopy

Means visual examination with an instrument.

Example: colonoscopy — viewing the inside of the colon with a flexible scope.
Diagnostic Suffixes
-itis

Means inflammation.

Example: tonsillitis — inflammation of the tonsils.
Pathology Suffixes
-logy

Means study of.

Example: cardiology — the study and treatment of the heart.
General Suffixes

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About these cards

Review status: Second-reader reviewed, with corrections applied.

Checked against:

Checked against "Building a Medical Terminology Foundation" (Kimberlee Carter and Marie Rutherford, CC BY 4.0) and Merriam-Webster Medical Dictionary definitions (reference only; all wording is original).

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