Chapter 1, Problem 15DMW

Summary Introduction

In general, a medical word contains a word root, combining form, prefix, and suffix. A “word root” is referred to as the foundation of a “medical term” and the word root contains the primary meaning of the medical term. Generally, all medical terms contain minimum one “word root”. The combining of the word root and the combining vowel (i or o) results in the formation of a combining form. A suffix is referred to as a word element that attached or placed to the end of a word. The suffix alters the meaning of a word. A prefix is referred to as a word element that attached or placed to the beginning of a word root or word. There are three basic rules are involved in building medical words: (i) The word root links the suffix that starts with a vowel; (ii) The combining form (word root + vowel) links a suffix that starts with a consonant; (iii) The combining form links one “word root” to another “word root” to create a compound word.