Why do doctors call a kidney specialist a nephrologist, but the blood vessel to the kidney the renal artery? Because medicine borrowed from two languages. Nephros is Greek for kidney; renes is Latin for the kidneys. Medical English is full of these pairs, and once you see them, a lot of terminology stops looking random.
Why both Latin and Greek?
Ancient Greek doctors, above all the writers of the Hippocratic texts, gave medicine much of its early vocabulary. Roman and later European scholars wrote in Latin, and anatomy, the naming of body parts, was largely done in Latin from the Renaissance on. The result, roughly: Greek roots dominate names for diseases and specialties (nephritis, nephrology), and Latin roots are common in anatomical description (renal, pulmonary). It's a tendency, not a rule.
Latin and Greek pairs
| Body part | Greek root | Latin root |
|---|---|---|
| Kidney | nephr- (nephrology) | ren- (renal) |
| Lung | pneumon- (pneumonia) | pulmon- (pulmonary) |
| Skin | derm- (dermatitis) | cutane- (subcutaneous) |
| Bone | oste- (osteoporosis) | oss- (ossify) |
| Eye | ophthalm- (ophthalmologist) | ocul- (ocular) |
| Ear | ot- (otitis) | aur- (aural) |
| Nose | rhin- (rhinitis) | nas- (nasal) |
| Mouth | stomat- (stomatitis) | or- (oral) |
| Tooth | odont- (orthodontist) | dent- (dental) |
| Tongue | gloss- (hypoglossal) | lingu- (sublingual) |
| Vein | phleb- (phlebotomy) | ven- (intravenous) |
| Blood | hem-, hemat- (hematology) | sanguin- (serosanguineous) |
| Head | cephal- (cephalic) | capit- (decapitate) |
| Joint | arthr- (arthritis) | articul- (articular) |
Roots with one main form
Some organs are known in medicine mainly by their Greek root: the heart (cardi-), the liver (hepat-), and the stomach (gastr-). Latin cor, "heart", appears in a few clinical terms (precordial, cor pulmonale), but mostly survives in everyday English, through French: cordial, courage.
Building a term
Most medical terms combine a root with a prefix or suffix:
- -itis, inflammation: hepatitis, arthritis
- -ectomy, removal: appendectomy
- -ology, study of: cardiology
- intra-, within: intravenous
- sub-, under: sublingual, subcutaneous
Common mistakes
- Linking arthritis to arteries. Arthr- means joint. Arteries are a different word, from Greek arteria.
- Assuming one root per organ. Many organs have a Latin and a Greek root, and both are in use.
- Mixing up hepat- and hem-. Hepat- is the liver; hem- is blood.
Frequently asked questions
Why does medical terminology use Latin and Greek?
Greek physicians named many diseases first, and European anatomy was written in Latin for centuries, so medicine kept roots from both languages.
What does renal mean?
Relating to the kidneys, from Latin renes.
What is the difference between nephr- and ren-?
They both mean kidney. Nephr- is Greek and is common in names for diseases and specialties; ren- is Latin and is common in anatomy.
What does -itis mean?
Inflammation. Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver.
Try it
Say each root before you flip the card. Then cover the table: which Latin root would you expect in a word meaning "under the skin"?