Introduction to Healthcare Terminology



Introduction to Healthcare Terminology



Objectives



• State the derivation of most healthcare terms.


• Use the rules given to build, spell, and pronounce healthcare terms.


• Use the rules given to change singular terms to their plural forms.


• Recognize and recall an introductory word bank of prefixes, suffixes, and combining forms and their respective meanings.








Derivation of Healthcare Terms


Healthcare terminology is a specialized vocabulary derived from Greek and Latin word components. This terminology is used by professionals in the medical field to communicate with each other. By applying the process of “decoding,” or recognizing the word components and their meanings and using these to define the terms, anyone will be able to interpret literally thousands of medical terms.


The English language and healthcare terminology share many common origins. This proves to be an additional bonus for those who put forth the effort to learn hundreds of seemingly new word parts. Two excellent and highly relevant examples are the combining forms (the “subjects” of most terms) gloss/o and lingu/o, which mean “tongue” in Greek and Latin, respectively. Because the tongue is instrumental in articulating spoken language, Greek and Latin equivalents appear, not surprisingly, in familiar English vocabulary. The table below illustrates the intersection of our everyday English language with the ancient languages of Greek and Latin and can help us to clearly see the connections. Suffixes (word parts that appear at the end of some terms) and prefixes (word parts that appear at the beginning of some terms) also are presented in this table. Special notice should be given to the pronunciation key that is provided directly under the examples: You will have to use your tongue to say them! Please remember that terminology is spoken as well as written and read. You must take advantage of the many resources that this text provides if you wish to fully communicate as a healthcare professional.



Did you notice that healthcare terms use the word origins literally, while English words are related to word origins but are not exactly the same? Fortunately, most healthcare terms may be assigned a simple definition through the use of their word parts.



Types of Healthcare Terms


Decodable Terms


Decodable terms are those terms that can be broken into their Greek and Latin word parts and given a working definition based on the meanings of those word parts. Most medical terms are decodable, so learning word parts is important. The word parts are:



In our first examples, gloss/ and lingu/ are word roots with an “o” as their combining vowel. Gloss/o and lingu/o are therefore combining forms, -ary, -al and -itis are suffixes and bi- and sub- are prefixes. Figs 1-1 and 1-2 demonstrate the decoding of the terms glossitis and sublingual. Throughout the text, we will be using combining forms, so that you will learn the appropriate combining vowel for that particular term.


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Fig. 1-1 Decoding of the term glossitis.

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Fig. 1-2 Decoding of the term sublingual.


Nondecodable Terms


Not all terms are composed of word parts that can be used to assemble a definition. These terms are referred to as nondecodable terms, that is, words used in medicine whose definitions must be memorized without the benefit of word parts. These terms will have a blank space in the word origin tables presented in the text or will include only a partial notation because the word origins either are not helpful or don’t exist. Examples of nondecodable terms include the following:



• Cataract: From the Greek term meaning “waterfall.” In healthcare language, this means progressive opacification of the lens.


• Asthma: From the Greek term meaning “panting.” Although this word origin is understandable, the definition is a respiratory disorder characterized by recurring episodes of paroxysmal dyspnea (difficulty breathing).


• Diagnosis: The disease or condition that is named after a healthcare professional evaluates a patient’s signs, symptoms, and history. Although the term is built from word parts (dia-, meaning “through,” “complete”; and -gnosis, meaning “state of knowledge”), using these word parts to form the definition of diagnosis, which is “a state of complete knowledge,” really isn’t very helpful.


• Prognosis: Similar to diagnosis, the term prognosis can be broken down into its word parts (pro-, meaning “before” or “in front of”; and -gnosis, meaning “state of knowledge”), but this does not give the true definition of the term, which is “a prediction of the probable outcome of a disease or disorder.”


• Sequela (suh KWELL ah): A condition that results from an injury or disease.


• Acute: A term that describes an abrupt, severe onset (acu- means “sharp”) to a disease.


• Chronic: Developing slowly and lasting for a long time (chron/o means “time”). Diagnoses may be additionally described as being either acute or chronic.


• Sign: An objective finding of a disease state (e.g., fever, high blood pressure, rash)


• Symptom: A subjective report of a disease (pain, itching)


Other types of terms that are not built from word parts include the following:





Abbreviations and Symbols


Abbreviations are terms that have been shortened to letters and/or numbers for the sake of convenience. Symbols are graphic representations of a term. Abbreviations and symbols are extremely common in written and spoken healthcare terminology but can pose problems for healthcare workers. The Joint Commission has published a “DO NOT USE” list of dangerously confusing abbreviations, symbols, and acronyms that should be avoided (see Appendix C). The Institute of Safe Medical Practice, Inc., has provided a more extensive list. Each healthcare organization should have an official list, which includes the single meaning allowed for each abbreviation or symbol. Examples of acceptable abbreviations and symbols include the following:




image Exercise 1: Derivation of Healthcare Terms and Nondecodable Terms


Match the following types of healthcare terms with their examples.




imageMany students find that flash cards help them remember word parts. If this is a strategy that could work for you, now is a great place to start, whether the cards are purchased or handmade. One card will be needed for each word part, with the part on one side and the definition on the reverse. The Evolve website that accompanies this text provides electronic flash cards that can be sorted by chapter, by type of word part (prefix, suffix, combining form) and by abbreviation.



Decoding Terms


Check, Assign, Reverse, Define (CARD Method)


Using Greek and Latin word components to decipher the meanings of healthcare terms requires a simple four step process. You need to:



Using Figure 1-3, see how this process is applied to your first patient, Alex.


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Fig. 1-3 How to decode a healthcare term using the CARD method.

Most of the terms presented in this text appear in standardized tables. The term and its pronunciation appear in the first column, the word origin in the second, and a definition in the third. A table that introduces five healthcare terms that include five different combining forms and suffixes is provided on p. 6. (The use of prefixes will be introduced later.) Success in decoding these terms depends on how well you remember the 12 word parts that are covered in the table below. Once you master these 12 word parts, you will be able to recognize and define many other medical terms that use these same word parts—a perfect illustration of how learning a few word parts helps you learn many healthcare terms. The “wheel of terminology” included on Fig. 1-4 demonstrates how the different suffixes in the table on p. 6. can be added to a combining form to make a variety of terms.


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Fig. 1-4 Body parts and their combining forms. Surrounding the figure are “terminology wheels” that show how different suffixes can be added to a combining form to make a variety of terms.


The following table demonstrates how terms are presented in this book. Notice that the first column includes the term and its pronunciation. The second column breaks the term down into word parts and their meanings. The third column includes the definition of the term and any synonyms.







Building Terms


Now that you’ve seen how terms are decoded, we will discuss how they are built. First, a few rules on how to spell healthcare terms correctly.



Spelling Rules


With a few exceptions, decodable healthcare terms follow five simple rules.



1. If the suffix starts with a vowel, a combining vowel is not needed to join the parts. For example, it is simple to combine the combining form arthr/o and suffix -itis to build the term arthritis, which means “an inflammation of the joints.” The combining vowel “o” is not needed because the suffix starts with the vowel “i.”


2. If the suffix starts with a consonant, a combining vowel is needed to join the two word parts. For example, when building a term using arthr/o and -plasty, the combining vowel is retained and the resulting term is spelled arthroplasty, which refers to a surgical repair of a joint.


3. If a combining form ends with the same vowel that begins a suffix, one of the vowels is dropped. The term that means “inflammation of the inside of the heart” is built from the suffix -itis (inflammation), the prefix endo- (inside), and the combining form cardi/o. Endo- + cardi/o + -itis would result in endocardiitis. Instead, one of the “i”s is dropped, and the term is spelled endocarditis.


4. If two or more combining forms are used in a term, the combining vowel is retained between the two, regardless of whether the second combining form begins with a vowel or a consonant. For example, joining gastr/o and enter/o (small intestine) with the suffix -itis, results in the term gastroenteritis. Notice that the combining vowel is kept between the two combining forms (even though enter/o begins with the vowel “e”), and the combining vowel is dropped before the suffix -itis.


5. Sometimes when two or more combining forms are used to make a medical term, special notice must be paid to the order in which the combining forms are joined. For example, joining esophag/o (which means esophagus), gastr/o (which means stomach), and duoden/o (which means duodenum, [the first part of the small intestines]) with the suffix -scopy (process of viewing), produces the term esophagogastroduodenoscopy. An esophagogastroduodenoscopy is a visual examination of the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum. In this procedure, the examination takes place in a specific sequence, that is, esophagus first, stomach second, then the duodenum. Thus the term reflects the direction from which the scope travels through the body (Fig. 1-5).


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Fig. 1-5 The decoding of the term esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD).


Suffixes


The body systems chapters in this text (Chapters 3 through 15) include many combining forms that are used to build terms specific to each system. These combining forms will not be seen elsewhere, except as a sign or symptom of a particular disorder. Suffixes, however, are used over and over again throughout the text. Suffixes usually can be grouped according to their purposes. The following tables cover the major categories.



Noun-Ending Suffixes


Noun endings are used most often to describe anatomic terms. Noun endings such as -icle, -ole, and -ule describe a diminutive structure.


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Oct 6, 2017 | Posted by in GENERAL SURGERY | Comments Off on Introduction to Healthcare Terminology

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