Welcome back to the channel where medical topics are made easy.
We’re going to continue to simplify medical terminology in this video.
And before we get started, make sure to turn on those captions down below and read along.
This will help improve learning.
We already talked about common medical abbreviations, prefixes, and root words in the last couple videos.
And they’re going to be linked down below in the description, so make sure to check them out.
Now we’re going to continue with a list of even more common root words that you’re likely to see.
You might remember from the previous videos that most medical words
have a beginning, middle, and end.
Just to recap, the prefix is the descriptive part of the medical term
and it forms the beginning of the word.
The prefix describes characteristics like a location, direction, number, quantity, amount,
size, or color.
Next we have the root, and it forms the middle of the word.
The root provides the subject of the term, and it often pertains to a body part or system.
Finally we have the suffix, and it forms the end of the word.
The suffix brings meaning to the term,
and it might indicate a disease, disorder, condition, procedure, process, specialty, or test.
We're now going to focus on 3 more sets of common medical roots.
And make sure to hit that subscribe button
so you don’t miss out on the future video on suffixes.
As mentioned before, medical roots are the subject of the word
and often pertain to a body part or system.
You can usually find the root in the middle of the word when a prefix is present.
If there is no prefix, then the root is going to form the beginning of the word.
There might also be more than one root combined together.
Let’s take a look at the first set of root words.
Hit pause in the video and see how many you can define before looking at the answers.
First we have “Axillo” which refers to the armpit.
You might learn about the axillary vein in anatomy.
The axillary vein travels through the axilla toward the 1st rib.
As we go through the roots, you're going to see that most of them are shown in the table
as ending in the letter “O”.
This is the combining form, and it's to help simplify the pronunciation.
Just know that there might be a different vowel other than “O” that follows the root.
The vowel that follows the root is known as the combining vowel,
and it connects the root to another root word or a suffix.
Next we have “Reno” which means kidney.
You can think of a renogram or renal scan which is a nuclear medicine test of the kidneys.
It uses radioactive tracer to examine the kidneys and their function.
The next root is “Rhino” which refers to the nose.
A simple trick is to think of a rhino and its horn on its nose,
and this will help you remember that "rhino" means nose.
An example medical term is rhinorrhea which refers to a runny nose.
You might also remember from the last video that “Naso” means nose as well.
Moving on to “Sigmoido”, this pertains to the sigmoid colon.
The sigmoid colon is the “S” shaped last part of the large intestine,
making it easy to remember because “sigmoido” and “sigmoid” both start with the letter “S”.
An example is sigmoidoscopy, which is a procedure that uses a scope to visualize the inside
of the sigmoid colon.
Next is “Sinus” which refers to the sinuses.
It’s another easy one to remember because the root word “sinus” is self-explanatory.
You can think of sinusitis which is inflammation of the sinuses, especially around the nose
as indicated by the star.
You'll learn in the suffix video that “itis” means inflammation.
The next root is “Tracheo” which means trachea.
It’s another simple one to remember because “tracheo” and “trachea” sound similar.
An example medical term is tracheostomy which is a surgical opening through the neck
into the trachea to allow for passage of air.
Next we have “Tympano” which refers to the eardrum.
The medical term for eardrum is actually tympanic membrane, so this could help you remember
that the root “tympano” pertains to the eardrum.
Another example is tympanosclerosis which is the calcification and hardening of tissue
in the eardrum.
Moving on to “Umbilico”, this refers to the umbilicus which is the belly button.
The simple way to remember this root is to think of the umbilical cord,
which is the cord arising from the navel that connects the fetus with the placenta.
Next we have “Vasculo” which pertains to blood vessels.
An example is perivascular which means situated or occurring around a blood vessel.
Perivascular is a good example of a medical term that uses a prefix,
which in this case is "peri" meaning around or surrounding,
followed by the root word.
You might also remember from the last video that “Arterio” refers to an artery.
Finally we have “Vesico” which refers to the bladder.
It can also mean blister as well.
An example medical term is colovesical fistula, which is an abnormal connection between the
colon and urinary bladder.
This is a great example of 2 roots combined together.
We have colo referring to colon that we learned in the last video,
and we have vesico referring to urinary bladder.
Let’s move on to the next set of common medical root words.
Hit pause in the video and see how many you can name.
First we have “Adeno” which refers to gland.
An example is adenocarcinoma.
We learned from the last video that “carcino” means cancer.
So adenocarcinoma is cancer that originates in the glands or gland cells,
which are typically found in tissues that line internal organs.
The next root is “Chondro” which relates to cartilage.
You can think of chondroblast which is a type of cell that plays a role in the formation
of cartilage.
Next we have “Blepharo” which refers to the eyelid.
An example medical term is blepharospasm which is involuntary movement, twitching,
or contraction of the eyelid.
Moving on to “Bucco”, this means cheek.
You might learn about the buccinator in anatomy which is the major facial muscle underlying
the cheek.
The next root word is “Carpo” which means wrist.
Another anatomy example would be the carpal and metacarpal bones.
The carpal bones are the 8 bones of the wrist.
Then if we break down metacarpal, “meta” means after, subequent to, or behind.
So the metacarpal bones are the bones in the hand,
which are subsequent to the carpal bones which are in the wrist.
Metacarpal is another good example of a term that uses a prefix,
which in this case is meta, and then it's followed by a root word.
Next we have “Cholecysto” which relates to the gallbladder.
For example, cholecystitis is inflammation of the gallbladder.
The next root word is “Costo” which means rib.
A good medical term to use here is costochondritis because we just learned what chondro meant.
Remember "chondro" refers to cartilage, and we hinted earlier that “itis” means inflammation.
So costochondritis is inflammation of the cartilage of the rib cage or chest wall.
Next is “Cutaneo” which refers to the skin.
A good example is transcutaneous because it’s another term that uses a prefix followed by a root.
We learned in the prefix video that “trans” means through or across.
So transcutaneous means by way of or through the skin.
An example medical term would be transcutaneous pacing which is a temporary means of pacing
the heart by delivering pulses of electrical current through the skin.
Moving on to “Gingivo”, this pertains to the gums of the mouth.
More medical terms that use a prefix followed by a root are supragingival
and subgingival.
We know from the prefix video that “supra” means above and “sub” means below.
So for example, supragingival plaque refers to bacteria above the margin of the gums,
and subgingival plaque refers to bacteria below the margin of the gums.
Finally we have “Labio” which relates to the lips.
You can think of labiodental sounds which refers to the letters made using the lower
lip and upper teeth such as “F” or “V”.
Let’s wrap this up with one final set of common roots.
First we have “Lingua” or “Linguo” which mean tongue.
We can use the example linguogingival because we now know what “gingivo” means.
We know “gingivo” refers to the gums and “linguo” refers to the tongue.
So linguogingival pertains to the tongue and gums.
You can also think of the word bilingual which is the ability to speak in 2 languages or "tongues".
Next we have “Myelo” which refers to the bone marrow or the spinal cord.
Some bone marrow examples include myeloma which is a malignant tumor of the bone marrow.
Or myeloblast which is a type of immature white blood cell that forms in the bone marrow.
Or myelofibrosis which is scarring of the bone marrow that interrupts normal production
of blood cells.
An example medical term for the spinal cord is myelogram which is a radiographic study using
contrast dye to look at the spinal canal.
Next is “Odonto” which means teeth.
You can think of periodontitis which is inflammation of the tissue around the teeth.
It’s a good example of a medical term that uses a prefix which is “peri”,
and this means around or surrounding, and then there is a root which is “odonto”,
and this means teeth, and finally a suffix which is “itis”,
and this means inflammation.
The next root is a simple one. It’s “Oro” which means mouth.
You can also think of oropharynx which is the part of the throat at the back of the mouth.
Next is “Pelvo” which refers to the pelvis, especially of the skeleton.
It’s another easy one to remember because “pelvo” and “pelvis” sound the same.
You can think of a pelvic binder which is used in trauma to compress the pelvis in patients
with a pelvic fracture.
The next root is another easy one because they sound the same.
It’s “Spleno” which refers to spleen.
An example medical term is splenectomy which is the surgical removal of the spleen.
Next we have “Spondylo” which refers to the vertebrae or spine.
An example is spondylosis which is degenerative arthritic changes to the spine.
Moving on to “Aorto”, this refers to the aorta. It's obviously another easy one to remember.
You can think of aortostenosis which is narrowing of the aorta.
Next is “Angio” which means blood vessel.
Remember “vasculo” also refers to blood vessel and “arterio” refers to artery.
You can think of angiography which is the radiographic visualization of blood vessels after injecting them with a dye.
Finally we have “Stetho” which refers to chest.
The simple example is stethoscope which is the instrument used primarily to listen to the chest,
especially the heart and lungs.
Hopefully this helped you better understand medical terminology and roots.
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