Medical Terminology Suffixes: Flashcards and Quiz

The suffix usually tells you what's happening: inflammation, pain, removal, an exam. Read a medical word from the end first.

Surgery suffixes, the classic trap

A memory hook: ectomy, exit (it comes out); otomy, open it up; ostomy, an opening that stays.

Instrument, procedure, record

• -scope is the instrument; -scopy is the exam done with it.
• -graph is the instrument; -graphy is the process; -gram is the record it makes.

So an electrocardiograph produces an electrocardiogram.

Conditions

• -itis inflammation, -algia pain, -osis abnormal condition, -pathy disease
• -emia blood condition, -penia too few, -megaly enlargement
• -oma tumor or mass

Try it

gastr (stomach) + itis = inflammation of the stomach. neur (nerve) + algia = nerve pain. The next deck gives you the roots for body parts so you can read the middle of every word.

Education only, not medical advice.