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medical terminology

HEAL100 Health Care — exam and revision material · Other

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Health Care exam material, 75 pages. Originally published on StudyMerit.

Pages
75
Academic year
2025/2026
Language
English

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Medical Terminology UNIT 1 Introduction to medical terminology UNIT 2 Component of medical terms UNIT 3 Terms related to body systems GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY All words are built using word root. Word roots come from their language of origin. In English medical terminology most word roots originate from Greek and latin. Greek and Room physicians studied anatomy and were responsible for naming body structures and identifying early diseases. This formed the basis for the development of western language. Medical terms are built using root words which acts as a basis for communication among health professionals. Learning Outcomes At the end of each unit the learner will be able to: 1. Explain the scope and nature of terminology used in medicine 2. Identify terms related to the body parts and system 3. Identify component parts of medical terms ( Root/stem, prefixes and suffixes) 4. Identify medical abbreviations, signs and symbols used in medicine 5. Identify words that describe pharmacological terms and procedures in medicine UNIT 1: Introduction to Medical Terminology By the end of this unit the learners will be able to: 1. Define Medical Terminology 2. Explain the importance of medical terminology 3. Describe the historical development of medical terms Definition of medical terminology Medical terminology refers to the study of words used to communicate facts and ideas particular to medicine concerning the origin,construction the past and present usage and the meaning of such word. It can further be defined as a specialized language and a means of communication between and amongst health professionals. It is a complex and fascinating subject covering;  History of the terms  Word source  People involved ( eponyms and mythology)  Anatomy and body systems  Diseases and procedures In defining medical terminology it is also important to appreciate the following terms:- • Medical -This refers to medicine and non-surgical treatment of diseases Downloaded by Aisyln Vaughn (samuelkingstone40@gmail.com) Scan to open on Studocu lOMoARcPSD|14174986

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• Medicine – Clinical specialty in medicine as practiced by physician and is concerned with treatment of patients using drugs and other non-surgical measures. • Drug –Any substance taken into the body /applied on its surface for the purposes of prevention or treatment of disease. • Disease -A condition in which some abnormality of structure or function is present in some part of the body The importance of learning Medical Terminology Why study medical terminology?  Facilitates communication between or amongst health professionals  Enables the students to apply medical knowledge in coding and indexing of diseases  Helps the students understand the abbreviation, signs and symbols as used in medicine  Helps students to develop the ability to read and understand the language of medicine  Helps in teaching and research purposes Historical development of Medical Terminology • Opening remarks of historical dev. To study something well you must know its history. History makes a subject interesting and jogs the memory regarding meanings. • It is estimated that about three-fourths of our medical terminology is of Greek origin. The main reason for this is that the Greeks were the founders of rational medicine in the golden age. • It started at Hippocratic School and, later on, Galen (130 – 200 AD). The Greek from Asia Minor who lived in Rome in the 2nd century A.D.formulated the theories which dominated medicine up to the beginning of the 18th Century. However when the Romans overcame them their vocabulary grew up to express the science(roman empireof Greek civilization in the 5th Century B.Cempire)this language did not last for long to back to Greek language and this where Hippocrates were the first to describe diseases or the father of medicine. • based on observation, and the names given by them to many conditions are still used today, for example, arthritis, nephritis, pleuritis,pleurisy Derivation of Medical Terms Ancient Beliefs Lunacy/ lunatic – from the latin luna for moon; mental state influenced by the moon Daily life agoraphobia – fear of open spaces. An agora was an ancient Greek open space for a market or assembly Greek and Roman Hygiene – from Hygiea, Greek goddess of Health Mythology Venereal – from Venus, Roman goddess of love Achilles tendon – Greek hero of Trojan war; invulnerable except for his heel Nymphomania – extreme eroticism and sexual activity in a female: alludes to the behavior of Greek nymphs. Oedipus complex – excessive devolution of a son for his mother and jealous dislike of his father. Greek King, Oedipus, married his mother after killing his father. Downloaded by Aisyln Vaughn (samuelkingstone40@gmail.com) Scan to open on Studocu lOMoARcPSD|14174986

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Morphine – from Morpheus, Greek god of dreams and visions. He was the son of Hypnos (hypnosis) god of sleep. Nature From nature came terms such as: Hare Lip, Horsehoe, kidney, pigeon chest, elephantiasis, bat or cauliflower ear. Other languages influencing medical terminology French - Bruit (noise) – heart sound heard on auscultation - Curette (scoop) – instrument used to scrape a cavity - Lavage (wash) – washing or irrigation of a site - Sadism (Marque De Sade 18 th century) – sexual pleasure derived from inflicting pain on others (mental or physical) Arabic -Alcohol – subtle essence Spanish -Quinine (bark) – anti-malarial derived from cinchoma bark Eponyms Most eponyms are common or proper names and honour the discoverer of a condition, procedure, test, instrument or anatomical feature. They have enriched and humanised medical terminology. Even though eponyms are prolific and common in everyday use, they should not be used when there is a medical term e.g Parkinson’s Disease = paralysis agitans. Pick’s disease is a classic example of why NOT to use eponyms as it has four relatively common diseases which share the same name (genetic, brain, skin and heart conditions). Acronyms A word formed from the initial letters of other words ANZAC - Australian and New Zealand Army Corps LASER - Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation Syndrome A syndrome is a group of signs and symptoms combined under one or several names enabling them to be “pigeon holed”, especially genetic disorders e.g Don Syndrome = Trisomy 21. Over 2,700 syndromes are listed in the “Dictionary of Medical Syndromes” A syndrome is a combination of a number of symptoms (anatomical, physiological or biochemical) and signs which together characterises a condition. Homonym Words that sound alike, but have a different spelling and meaning. Boarder - a person who boards i.e supplied with food and lodging Border - the outer edge; boundary Die - to cease to breathe Downloaded by Aisyln Vaughn (samuelkingstone40@gmail.com) Scan to open on Studocu lOMoARcPSD|14174986

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