Welcome back to the channel where medical topics are made easy.
We’re going to simplify medical terminology in this video.
And before we get started, make sure to turn on the captions down below and read along.
This will help improve learning.
Medical words can be tough to learn at first, and we’re going to show you tables, tricks,
and examples to help make it easier for you.
We reviewed common medical prefixes and common medical abbreviations in the last 2 videos.
And you learned all sorts of tricks to remember them.
The videos will be linked down below in the description so make sure to check them out.
Now we’re going to focus on the roots in this video, but before we do that
let's briefly recap what prefixes, roots, and suffixes are.
You might remember from the previous video that most medical words have a beginning,
middle, and end.
Starting with the prefix, it typically 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 common medical roots.
And make sure to subscribe to not miss out on the future video about common suffixes.
As mentioned before, medical roots are the subject of the word and often pertain to a
body part or system.
The root may form the beginning of the word if there is no prefix, or they might form the middle
of the word if there is a prefix.
There may also be more than one root combined together.
As we go through the medical roots, hit pause in the video and see how many you can define
before looking at the answers.
Starting with "Abdomino", this means abdomen.
It's easy to remember, just think of abdominal muscles, and this will help you remember
"abdomino" refers to abdomen.
As we go through the roots, you will see most of them are listed in the table as ending
in the letter “O”.
This is to simplify the pronunciation, but just know that there might be a different vowel
other than “O” that follow the root.
The vowels are what connect the root to another root or suffix.
Next we have "Arterio" which refers to artery.
"Arterio" and artery sound the same making it easy to remember.
An example medical term is arteriosclerosis which is the thickening or hardening of the
walls of the arteries.
The next root is “Brachio” which means arm.
You can think of your brachial pulse which is the pulse inside your upper arm
as indicated by the star.
Next is “Bronch” which refers to the bronchi of the lungs.
You can think of bronchitis which is inflammation of the bronchi usually caused by a virus.
Moving on to "Carcino" which means cancer.
You can use the word carcinogen which is a substance capable of causing cancer.
And this will help you remember that the root "carcino" refers to cancer.
Next is "Cardio" which is an easy one to remember. Cardio means heart.
An example medical term is cardiovascular which relates to the heart and blood vessels,
or cardiomyopathy which is a chronic disease of the heart muscle.
The next root is “Colo” which refers to colon.
It’s another easy one to remember since “colo” and “colon” sound the same.
You can think of colonoscopy which is a procedure performed to examine the colon.
“Cyto” is the next root, and it means cell.
An example medical term would be cytotoxic, and if something is cytotoxic it means it's
toxic to living cells.
Next we have "Derm" or "Dermato" which refer to skin.
A dermatologist is a medical practitioner who specializes in treating and diagnosing
skin conditions.
Finally we have "Encephalo" which refers to the brain.
A medical term is encephalitis. We'll learn that “itis” means inflammation when we
talk about suffixes in the next video.
So encephalitis is inflammation of the brain.
Let’s continue with more common roots.
Again, hit pause in the video and see how many you can name.
Starting with "Gastro", this refers to the stomach.
You can think of gastritis. We mentioned earlier that "itis" means inflammation.
So gastritis is inflammation of the lining of the stomach.
Next we have "Intestino" which refers to the intestines.
It's easy to remember because “intestino” and intestine sound the same.
You can think of intestinal obstruction which is a partial or complete blockage of the intestines.
The next root is "Myo" which means muscle.
For example, the myocardium is the muscular tissue of the heart.
"Neuro" refers to nerves.
For example, a neuron is a nerve cell, and neurons are specialized cells that transmit nerve impulses.
Next we have "Oculo" or "Ophthalmo" which both pertain to the eye.
An example medical term is oculomotor which refers to the movement of the eye,
or an ophthalmologist who specializes in treating conditions related to the eye.
"Oto" means ear.
You can think of an otoscope which is the instrument used to examine the ear.
The next root is "Pulmo" which refers to the lungs.
Just think of a pulmonologist who is a practitioner specializing in the diagnosis and treatment
of conditions related to the lungs.
Next we have "Thoraco" which means chest or thorax.
An example medical term is thoracotomy which is a surgical incision into the chest wall.
Next we have "Thyro" which pertains to the thyroid gland.
For example, thyrotoxicosis is the condition in which there is too much thyroid hormone in the body.
Finally we have "Viscero" which refers to the viscera or internal organs,
especially those in the abdominal cavity.
An example medical term is visceroceptors which are a group of receptors located in visceral organs.
Let’s move on to the next group of common roots.
First we have "Histo" or "Histio" which means tissue.
For example, histology is the study of the microscopic structures of tissues.
Next is "Hepato" which refers to liver.
For example, hepatomegaly is the abnormal enlargement of the liver.
The next root is "Nephro" which means kidney.
You can think of nephrolithiasis which are kidney stones.
"Onco" pertains to a tumor or a mass.
An example medical term is oncogene which is a gene that can potentially transform a
cell into a tumor cell.
Or oncology is the study and treatment of tumors.
Next we have "Osteo" which means bones.
An example is osteophyte which refers to bone spurs or bony outgrowths associated with degeneration
of cartilage at joints.
"Cranio" refers to skull.
You can think of craniotomy which is a surgical opening into the skull.
Next is "Adipo" which refers to fat or fatty tissue.
Another way of saying fatty tissue or body fat is adipose tissue, which is the connective
tissue consisting of lipid-rich cells.
"Adreno" refers to the adrenal glands.
It’s easy to remember because “adreno” and “adrenal” sound similar.
For example, adrenocortical refers to the outer layer of the adrenal gland.
"Arthro" and "Articulo" mean joint.
For example, arthroscopy is a surgical procedure that examines the inside of a joint,
and this helps diagnose and treat joint conditions.
Finally we have "Cephalo" which refers to head.
For example, cephalocaudal means proceeding or occurring in the direction from head to tail.
Let’s wrap this up with one final set of common roots.
How many can you name before looking at the answers?
First we have "Pneumo" which is another way of referring to the lungs.
Remember we also said "Pulmo" meant lungs as well.
You can think of pneumonia which is a disease that is marked by inflammation of lung tissue,
usually from an infection, and it’s accompanied by infiltration of the alveoli.
Next we have "Cerebello" which refers to the cerebellum of the brain.
You might hear of the cerebellopontine angle or recess in anatomy which refers to the cerebellum
and the pons, especially the space between the 2 structures.
"Cerebro" refers to the cerebrum of the brain.
For example, cerebrovascular relates to the brain and its blood vessels, and in medical
terms you might hear of a cerebrovascular accident which is another way of saying a stroke.
The next root is "Cysto" which refers to the urinary bladder.
You can think of cystoscopy which is a procedure using a scope to look inside the bladder.
Next we have "Duodeno" which pertains to the duodenum.
An example medical term is duodenography which is radiographic visualization of the duodenum
with a contrast dye.
"Glosso" refers to the tongue.
An example is macroglossia which is the abnormal enlargement of the tongue.
All of the examples up to this point have had the root as the first part of the word,
since the focus of this video is the root.
But this is a good example of a medical term that uses a prefix, which in this case is macro,
and then the root follows it.
Next we have "Laryngo" which refers to the larynx.
Laryngospasm is a spasmodic closure of the larynx.
The next root is "Lympho" which means lymph.
An example is lymphadenopathy which is a disease affecting the lymph nodes and usually causes
swelling to the lymph nodes.
Next is "Musculo" which means muscle.
Remember "Myo" also means muscle.
And you can think of musculoskeletal which relates to the musculature and skeleton together.
Finally we have "Naso" which means nose.
You can think of nasopharynx which is the upper part of the pharynx
continuous with the nasal passages.
Hopefully this video helped you better understand medical terminology and roots.
If you found the video useful please hit the like button and leave a comment down below.
Make sure to subscribe to not miss out on the next medical terminology video on roots and suffixes,
along with other future medical topics made easy.
You can find all of the notes and tables for this video on the website linked down below
in the description.
Thanks for watching and hope you check out future videos.