Putting It All Together
Medical Terminology
Laura S. Kabiri, PT, DPT, PhD, CSCS

A Word on Roots
How do you distinguish a root from a suffix or prefix?

Combining Vowel (/o)
What is the purpose of “/o”?
What is a combining form?
Some examples:

When To Keep The Combining Vowel
You will keep the combining vowel
when …
Examples:

When To Keep The Combining Vowel
You will keep the combining vowel
when …
Examples:

When To Drop The Combining Vowel
You will drop the combining vowel
when …
Why?
Examples:

Translating a
Medical Term

Step 1:
Give it a try. Try it on the
word “PSYCHOLOGY”...
Find another term to apply this step:
* Note: Some terms might have more than 2
parts.

Step 2:
Give it a try. Try it on the word
“PSYCHOLOGY”...
Step 1:
Step 2:
Find another term to apply this step:

Step 3:
Find a term to apply steps 1à 3:
Term:
Step 1:
Step 2:
Step 3:
What about “PSYCHOLOGY”?

Step 4:
Find a term to apply steps 1à 4:
Term:
Step 1:
Step 2:
Step 3:
Step 4:

Find a term to apply steps 1à 5:
Term:
Step 1:
Step 2:
Step 3:
Step 4:
Step 5:
Step 5:

Practice #1
Translate “tachycardia”
1. Break it down:
2. Translate suffix:
3. Translate prefix:
4. Translate root(s):
5. Assemble:

Practice #2
Translate “subcutaneous”
1. Break it down:
2. Translate suffix:
3. Translate prefix:
4. Translate root(s):
5. Assemble:

Thus Ends This Lecture