MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY AND ABBREVIATIONS

Katherine M. Cochran, PharmD, and Brandon Mottice, PharmD

CASE

L.K. is an APPE student on her advanced inpatient rotation. After being assigned to follow a patient, L.K. locates the History and Physical and reads that her patient is a 56-year-old male with a “CC of SOB” and a “PMH significant for chronic lung disease.” The assessment and plan reveal that the doctor suspects a pleural effusion and has ordered a CXR. While rounding with the team later that morning, the doctor reports that the chest x-ray confirmed the diagnosis of pleural effusion. They performed a thoracentesis that revealed the patient is suffering from a parapneumonic effusion. The doctors discuss that they want to start empiric antibiotics, but they will also perform a bronchoscopy with a C&S so they can narrow down antibiotic therapy, as appropriate. L.K. feels very overwhelmed by all of the medical terminology being used by the physicians. Later that day, she complains to a fellow classmate that they never learned about all of these diseases and tests in pharmacy school.

WHY IT’S ESSENTIAL

A firm knowledge of medical terminology and abbreviations is essential for communication in the world of pharmacy and medicine. The use of medical and professional terminology eliminates ambiguity and provides a common language through which healthcare professionals can communicate. A thorough understanding of the principals used to construct a medical term will allow you to infer the general meaning of terminology, even if the term itself is unfamiliar to you. When communicating in written form, abbreviations can be used to convey ideas in a more efficient way. If used properly, medical abbreviations will help you communicate clearly and concisely.

“In order to communicate effectively with fellow healthcare professionals, you need a strong knowledge base in medical terminology.”—Student

DECIPHERING MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY

A root word is the foundation of a medical term. The root establishes the term’s basic meaning. In medicine, the root word often refers to a body organ or system. For example, the root of the word nephrology is nephr-, meaning “kidney.” In some cases, more than one root word can be combined to form a compound word. A vowel, called a combining vowel, is inserted between the two root words in order to ease pronunciation. The most frequently used combining vowel is o; however, other vowels are used as well. For example, when the root word cardi-, meaning “heart,” is combined with the root word –vascular, meaning “blood vessels,” an o is inserted between the two root words to ease pronunciation. The resulting word is cardiovascular, which refers to the blood vessels of the heart. See Table 1 in Appendix 2-A for more examples of root words.

A suffix is added to the end of a root word to modify its meaning. A combining vowel is often used to combine the root word with the suffix. For example, when the root word pulmon-, meaning “lung,” is combined with the suffix –logy, meaning “study of,” a combining vowel is needed at the end of the root word to ease pronunciation. In this case, the combining vowel is o and the resulting word is pulmonology, which means “the study of the lungs.” Table 2 in Appendix 2-A lists examples of common suffixes.

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