Download Common Medical and Surgical Termsg

Common Medical and
Surgical Terms,
Prefixes and Suffixes
Dr. Gerrard Dennis Uy
• Patient History
• – a written history of an illness that includes all the
facts of medical significance in the life of the patient.
• Chief complaint
• - a concise statement describing the symptom,
problem, condition, diagnosis, physician recommended
return, or other factor that is the reason for a medical
encounter
• Diagnosis
• the determination of the nature of a case of a disease
or the distinguishing of one disease from another
• Symptom
• any subjective evidence of disease or of a patient's
condition.
• Sign
• any objective evidence of a disease, i.e., such evidence
as is perceptible to the examining physician
• Prognosis
• prediction of the probable course and outcome of a
disease.
• Differential diagnosis
• The process of weighing the probability of one disease
versus that of other diseases possibly accounting for a
patient's illness
• Acute
• Of or relating to a disease or a condition with a rapid
onset and a short, severe course
• Chronic
• Of long duration. Used of a disease of slow progress
and long continuance.
• Acute abdomen
– Medical shorthand for the acute onset
of abdominal pain
– potential medical emergency
– may reflect a major problem with one of the
organs in the abdomen, such
as appendicitis(inflamed appendix), cholecystitis
(inflamed gallbladder), a perforated ulcer in the
intestine, or a ruptured spleen.
• Acute coronary syndromes
– spectrum of conditions involving chest discomfort or
other symptoms caused by lack of oxygen to the heart
muscle
– most common symptom prompting diagnosis of ACS
is chest pain, often radiating of the left arm or angle
of the jaw, pressure-like in character, and associated
with nausea and sweating
– usually occurs as a result of one of three problems: ST
elevation myocardial infarction (30%), non ST
elevation myocardial infarction (25%), or unstable
angina (38%)
• Adenitis
– is a general term for an inflammation of
a gland or lymph node usually caused by bacterial
infections
– swelling of lymph nodes due to growth of lymph
cells is called lymphadenopathy
– E.g.: cervical adenitis, mesenteric adenitis
• Aetiology (Etiology)
– the science that deals with the causes or origin of
disease, the factors which produce or predispose
toward a certain disease or disorder
• Alexia
– Complete loss of the ability to read
– Usually acquired
• Dyslexia
– Disturbance in the ability to read
– Usually congenital
• Amaurosis Fugax
– A symptom described as a shade coming down over
the eye
– A partial or complete loss of sight that is temporary
– usually related to atherosclerosis in the blood vessels
that supply the brain
– can also occur with excessive acceleration, as in flight.
• Analgesia
– Inability to feel pain
• Aneurysm
– localized widening (dilatation) of an artery, a vein,
or the heart.
– The wall of the blood vessel or organ is weakened
and may rupture.
• Angina pectoris
– Chest pain due to an inadequate supply of oxygen
to the heart muscle
– The pain is typically severe and crushing, and it is
characterized by a feeling of pressure and
suffocation just behind the breastbone
– can accompany or be a precursor of a heart attack
• Prinzmetal angina
– Chest pain due to a coronary artery spasm, a
sudden constriction of one of the vessels that
supply the heart muscle with blood rich in oxygen
– can be triggered by emotional stress, medicines,
street drugs (cocaine) or exposure to cold
– Usually treated with beta-blocker medications and
nitroglycerin to open up the coronary arteries.
• Angiogram
– An X-ray image of blood vessels
– The vessels can be seen because a contrast dye
within them blocks the X-rays from developing an
imaging film.
• Anisocoria:
– condition in which the left and right pupils of the
eyes are not of equal size.
• Ankylosis
– Stiffness or, more often, fusion of a joint
– from the Greek word ankylsis, meaning stiffening of a
joint
• Aphasia
– literally, no speech
– may also be used to describe defects in spoken
expression or comprehension of speech
• Aphonia
– Inability to speak.
• Apnea
– The absence of breathing (respiration).
• Aspiration
– Removal of a sample of fluid and cells through a
needle
– also refers to the accidental sucking in of food
particles or fluids into the lungs
• Asthenia
– Weakness/Lack of strength.
• Atherosclerosis
– process of progressive thickening and hardening
of the walls of medium-sized and large arteries as
a result of fat deposits on their inner lining
• Avulsion
– tearing away
– a nerve can be avulsed by an injury, as can part of
a bone.
• Bell's palsy
– paralysis of the nerve that supplies the facial muscles on
one side of the face (the seventh cranial nerve, or facial
nerve)
– often starts suddenly
– cause may be a viral infection
– Treatment includes:
• protecting the eye on the affected side from dryness during sleep
• Massage of affected muscles can reduce soreness
• Sometimes cortisone medication, such as prednisone is given to
reduce inflammation during the first weeks of illness
• The outlook is generally good; the vast majority of patients recover
within weeks or months.
• Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo(BPPV)
– is the most common form of vertigo
– characterized by the sensation of motion initiated
by sudden head movements or moving the head
in a certain direction
– rarely serious and can be treated.
• Blepharitis
– Inflammation of the eyelids
• Bruxism
– Grinding and gnashing of the teeth
– due to clenching of the teeth other than in chewing
and is associated with forceful lateral or protrusive
jaw movements.
• Bulla
– a blister more than 5 mm in diameter with thin walls
that is full of fluid.
• Cachexia
– General physical wasting with loss of weight and muscle
mass due to a disease
– also known as marasmus
• Calculus
– Stone
– Latin word which means “pebble”
• Callus
– A localized firm thickening of the upper layer of skin as a
result of repetitive friction.
– hard new bone substance that forms in an area of bone
fracture. Bony callus is part of the bone repair process.
• Chorea
– Ceaseless rapid complex body movements that look
well coordinated and purposeful but are, in fact,
involuntary.
• Claudication
– Intermittent claudication, or pain and cramping in the
lower leg is caused by inadequate blood flow to the
leg muscles
• Colitis
– Inflammation of the colon (large intestine)
• Conjunctivitis
– Inflammation of the membrane covering the
surface of the eyeball
• Colitis
– Inflammation of the colon (large intestine)
• Cyst
– A closed sac or capsule, usually filled with fluid or
semisolid material.
• Decubitus ulcer
– A bed sore, a skin ulcer that comes from lying in one
position too long so that the circulation in the skin is
compromised by the pressure, particularly over a
bony prominence such as the sacrum (sacral
decubitus).
• Deep vein thrombosis
– A blood clot within a deep vein, typically in the thigh
or leg.
– The blood clot (thrombus) can break off as an
embolus and make its way to the lung, where it can
cause lung problems
• Diuresis
– The increased formation of urine by the kidney
• Dysuria
– Pain during urination, or difficulty urinating.
Dysuria is usually caused by inflammation of the
urethra, frequently as a result of infection
• Ectopic
– In the wrong place, out of place
• Edema
– The swelling of soft tissues as a result of excess
fluid accumulation.
• Effusion
– Too much fluid, an outpouring of fluid
• Emesis
– Vomiting.
• Enuresis
– Involuntary urination
• Excision
– Surgical removal, as in the excision of a tumor
• Exudate
– A fluid rich in protein and cellular elements that oozes out
of blood vessels due to inflammation and is deposited in
nearby tissues
• Transudate
– is a fluid that passes through a membrane which filters out
much of the protein and cellular elements and yields a
watery solution
• Fistula
– An abnormal passageway in the body
– The fistula may go from the body surface into a
blindpouch or into an internal organ or go
between two internal organs
• Folliculitis
– An infection of the hair follicles of the skin
• Fracture
– A break in bone or cartilage
• Gait
– A manner of walking
• Glaucoma
– common eye condition in which the fluid pressure
inside the eyes rises because of slowed fluid
drainage from the eye
• Glossitis
– Inflammation of the tongue.
• Goiter
– A noncancerous enlargement of the thyroid gland
• Gout
– Condition characterized by abnormally elevated
levels of uric acid in the blood, recurring attacks of
joint inflammation (arthritis), deposits of hard
lumps of uric acid in and around the joints, and
decreased kidney function and kidney stones
• Hematemesis
– Bloody vomit
• Hematochezia
– Bright red blood in the stool, usually from the lower
gastrointestinal tract -- the colon or rectum -- or
from hemorrhoids
• Hematoma
– A localized swelling that is filled with blood caused by a break in
the wall of a blood vessel
– may be spontaneous, as in the case of an aneurysm, or caused
by trauma
– The blood is usually clotted or partially clotted, and it exists
within an organ or in a soft tissue space
• Hematuria
– Blood in the urine
– may or may not be accompanied by pain, but it is always
abnormal and should be further investigated
– Painful hematuria can be caused by a number of disorders,
including infections and stones in the urinary tract
– Painless hematuria can also be due to many causes,
including cancer
• Hemiparesis
– Weakness on one side of the body
• Hemiplegia
– Paralysis on one side of the body.
• Hemoptysis
– Spitting up blood or blood-tinged sputum from
the respiratory tract
– occurs when tiny blood vessels that line the lung
airways are broken
• Hepatoma:
– Cancer originating in the liver, in liver cells.
– More often called hepatocarcinoma or
hepatocellular carcinoma
• Hernia
– A general term referring to a protrusion of a tissue
through the wall of the cavity in which it is normally
contained
• Iatrogenic
– Due to the activity of a physician or therapy
• Idiopathic
– Of unknown cause
– Any disease that is of uncertain or unknown origin
may be termed idiopathic
• Ileus
– Obstruction of the intestine due to its being paralyzed
– The paralysis does not need to be complete to cause
ileus, but the intestine must be so inactive that food
cannot pass through it, which leads to blockage of the
intestine
• Incision
– A cut that is purposely made
– When making an incision, a surgeon is making a cut.
• Incontinence
– The inability to control excretions, to hold urine in the
bladder, or to keep feces in the rectum
• Infarct
– An area of tissue death that is due to a local lack of
oxygen
• Kyphosis
– Outward curvature of the spine, causing a humped
back
– Treatment includes physical therapy and wearing a
back brace, and in some cases surgery
• Ligament
– A tough band of connective tissue that connects
various structures, such as two bones
• Lordosis:
– Inward curvature of the spine
– The spine is not supposed to be absolutely straight, so
some degree of curvature is normal
– When the curve exceeds the usual range, it may be
due to musculoskeletal disease or simply to poor
posture
• Macule
– A circumscribed change in the color of skin that is
neither raised nor depressed
– Macules are completely flat and can only be
appreciated by visual inspection and not by touch
• Malaise
– A vague feeling of discomfort, one that cannot be
pinned down but is often sensed as 'just not right.'
• Maneuver, Valsalva
– A maneuver in which one tries with force to exhale with
the windpipe closed, impeding the return of venous blood
to the heart
• Melena
– Stool that is stained black by blood pigment or dark blood
products
• Metastasis
– The process by which cancer spreads from the place at
which it first arose as a primary tumor to distant locations
in the body.
• Muscular dystrophy
– One of a group of genetic diseases characterized by
progressive weakness and degeneration of
the skeletal or voluntary muscles which control
movement
• Myalgia
– Pain in the muscles or within muscle tissue
• Necrosis
– The death of living cells or tissues
• Neoplasia
– Abnormal new growth of cells
• Neuralgia
– Pain along the course of a nerve
• Neuropathic pain
– Chronic pain resulting from injury to the nervous
system
– The injury can be to the central nervous system (brain
and spinal cord) or the peripheral nervous system
(nerves outside the brain and spinal cord).
• Nosocomial
– Originating or taking place in a hospital, acquired
in a hospital, especially in reference to an infection
• Nuchal
– Referring to the back of the neck (nape)
• Odynophagia:
– Pain on swallowing food and fluids, a symptom
often due to disease of the esophagus
• Oliguria
– Less urination than normal
• Otalgia
– Ear pain; earache
• Palliation
– To palliate a disease is to treat it partially and
insofar as possible, but not cure it completely
• Percutaneous
– Through the skin
• Phantom limb syndrome
– The perception of sensations, often including pain,
in an arm or leg long after the limb has been
amputated
• Phlebitis
– Inflammation of a vein
• Prophylaxis
– The prevention of disease
• Prosthesis
– An artificial replacement of a part of the body,
such as a tooth, a facial bone, the palate, or a joint
• Ptosis
– Downward displacement
• Purpura
– Hemorrhage (bleeding) into the surface of the skin
– The area of skin with purpura is greater than 3
millimeters in diameter
• Pustule
– A pustule is a small collection of pus in the top layer of
skin (epidermis) or beneath it in the dermis
• Pyuria
– Pus in the urine
• Radiculopathy:
– Any disease of the spinal nerve roots and spinal
nerves
– Radiculopathy is characterized by pain that seems
to radiate from the spine, extending outward to
cause symptoms away from the source of the
spinal nerve root irritation
– Causes of radiculopathy include deformities of the
discs between the vertebrae
• Sciatica
– Pain that results from irritation of the sciatic nerve and
typically radiates from the buttock to the back of the thigh
– Maybe caused by a herniated disc
• Scoliosis
– Lateral (sideways) curving of the spine
• Sepsis
– The presence of bacteria (bacteremia), other infectious
organisms, or toxins created by infectious organisms in the
bloodstream with spread throughout the body
• Spasm
– A brief, automatic jerking movement
– A muscle spasm can be quite painful, with the muscle
clenching tightly
• Spasticity
– A state of increased tone of a muscle (and an increase
in the deep tendon reflexes)
• Spondylosis
– Degeneration of the disc spaces between the
vertebrae.
• Subluxation
– Partial dislocation of a joint
• Syncope
– Partial or complete loss of consciousness with
interruption of awareness of oneself and ones
surroundings
• Tachypnea
– Abnormally fast breathing.
• Tachycardia
– A rapid heart rate, usually defined as greater than
100 beats per minute
• Torticollis
– The most common of the focal dystonias, a state
of excessive or inadequate muscle tone in the
muscles in the neck that control the position of
the head.
• Ulcer
• A lesion that is eroding away the skin or
mucous membrane
Prefixes
• Dys- ( as in dyspnea, dysphagia, dystonia)
• Difficulty in doing something
• Contra- (as in contralateral, contraception)
• Against, or opposite of
• Hyper- (as in hypertension, hyperemia)
• Over, above, excessive, or above normal
• Hypo- (as in hypoglycemia, hypotonia)
• low, under, beneath, down, or below normal
• Hemi- (as in hemiplegia, hemiparesis)
• Half
Suffixes
• -emia (as in anemia, hyperemia)
• Pertaining to the blood
• -algia
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Pain – derived from the greek work Algos
arthralgia (joint pain)
cephalgia (headache)
Fibromyalgia
mastalgia (breast pain)
myalgia (muscle pain)
neuralgia (nerve pain).
• -centesis (as in thoracentesis)
• Surgical punture for drainage
• -megaly (as in hepatomegaly)
• enlargement
Surgical Prefixes
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
angio- : related to blood vessels
arthr- : related to a joint
encephal- : related to the brain
hepat- : related to the liver
lapar- : related to the abdominal cavity
mammo- and masto-: related to the breast
nephro- : related to the kidney
Cranio- : related to the cranium, which is the top
portion of the skull
Surgical Prefixes
•
•
•
•
•
•
gastro- : related to stomach
colono- : related to large intestine colon
cysto- : related to the bladder
oophor- : related to the ovary
orchid- : related to the testicle
Cholangi- : related to a bile duct
Surgical Suffixes
• -ectomy (as in appendectomy)
• Surgical removal of an organ/appendage/lesion
• -otomy (as in episiotomy)
• surgical incision
• -ostomy (as in tracheostomy, colostomy)
• surgically creating a hole (a new "mouth" or "stoma")
• oscopy (as in endoscopy, colposcopy)
• viewing of, normally with a scope
Surgical Suffixes
• -plasty (as in rhinoplasty, arthroplasty)
• plasty formation, plastic repair
• -rrhaphy (as in herniorrhaphy)
• suturing in place
• For the next meeting, read on Cardinal
Manifestations of Disease : PAIN
• Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine 17th
edition