HISTORY OF MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY

HISTORY OF MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY

Scientific Leader: Samarkand State Medical University Head of the

Department of Languages PhD, Yorova S.K.

1st year student of International Faculty Irwa Iqbal

Abstract. Medical terminology has an extensive and rich history in Latin and Greek languages. When the Romans conquered Greece, the knowledge and language of both cultures merged, resulting in new medical concepts regarding disease treatment and containment. Medical records were chronicled by hand, creating medical terms and books. For an example of a medical etymology, the word ‘diabetes’ is borrowed from the Greek word meaning a siphon.

Key words: medical terminology, diseases, language, word root, English term.

The 2nd-century A.D. Greek physician, Aretus the Cappadocian, named the condition diabetes. He explained that patients with it had polyuria and ‘passed water like a siphon’. Many medical words, like diabetes, come from Greek or Latin, along with most of the prefixes and suffixes that form the beginning or end of many polysyllabic medical terms. Numerous other languages, including Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, French, Gaelic, German, Hindu, Italian, Japanese, Persian, Portuguese, and Spanish, have also contributed to the great treasury of medical terms.

Much of the medical terminology we use today is attributed to Hippocrates, the ‘father of medicine’, and Claudius Galen, one of the most legendary doctors in the Roman Empire. ese and Spanish, have also contributed to the great treasury of medical terms.

From there, the Romans adopted Greek medicine, and with it, Greek medical terminology. According to the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine (JRSM), we use still use many of those terms for diseases and their symptoms including diarrhoea (throughflow) and dyspnoea (bad breathing).

Today, new medical terminology comes from English, as it has become the language of choice for medical journals and international conferences. The JRSM says “Medical doctors have chosen a single language for international communications” and as a result, we have entered the era of “medical English”.

New medical terms no longer have their root in Greek or Latin; rather they come from everyday English, such as “bypass operation”, “screening” and “scanning”. In some countries, the English term is adopted wholesale, as in the case of “bypass”, which the JRSM says “is accepted in German, Dutch, Scandinavian, Italian and Romanian, whereas the French, who do not favor anglicisms, translated it to pontage.”

Structure of medical terminology

Medical terminology is structured into three primary parts: The word root, the prefix, and the suffix. The word root is generally located in the middle of the word and signifies the basic meaning. The prefix comes before the word root and identifies the word’s meaning by revealing further information about the location and area of the body. The suffix, at the end of a word, works as an inflectional ending that conveys definite features, including the circumstances, development, and protocol regarding the condition.

Medical terms

1. Abrasion: A cut or scrape that typically isn’t serious.

2. Abscess: A tender, fluid-filled pocket that forms in tissue, usually due to infection.

3. Acute: Signifies a condition that begins abruptly and is sometimes severe, but the duration is short.

4. Benign: Not cancerous.

5. Biopsy: A small sample of tissue that’s taken for testing.

6. Chronic: Signifies a recurring, persistent condition like heart disease.

7. Contusion: A bruise.

8. Defibrillator: A medical device that uses electric shocks to restore normal heartbeat.

9. Edema: Swelling caused by fluid accumulation.

10. Embolism: An arterial blockage, often caused by a blood clot.

11. Epidermis: The outer layer of the skin.

12. Fracture: Broken bone or cartilage.

13. Gland: An organ or tissue that produces and secretes fluids that serve a specific function.

14. Hypertension: High blood pressure.

15. Inpatient: A patient who requires hospitalization.

16. Intravenous: Indicates medication or fluid that’s delivered by vein.

17. Malignant: Indicates the presence of cancerous cells.

18. Outpatient: A patient who receives care without being admitted to a hospital.

19. Prognosis: The predicated outcome of disease progression and treatment.

20. Relapse: Return of disease or symptoms after a patient has recovered.

21. Sutures: Stitches, which are used to join tissues together as they heal.

22. Transplant: The removal of an organ or tissue from one body that is implanted into another.

23. Vaccine: A substance that stimulates antibody production to provide immunity against disease.

24. Zoonotic disease: A disease that is transmissible from animals to humans.

Medical prefixes and suffixes

25. A-, an-: Lack of or without.

26. -ation: Indicates a process.

27. Dys-: Abnormal, difficult, or painful.

28. -ectomy: Surgical removal of something.

29. -ismus: Indicates a spasm or contraction.

30. -itis: Signifies inflammation.

31. -lysis: Decomposition, destruction, or breaking down.

32. Macro-: Large in size.

33. Melan/o-: Black or dark in color.

34. Micro-: Small in size.

35. -ology: The study of a particular concentration.

36. -osis: Indicates something that is abnormal.

37. -otomy: To cut into.

38. -pathy: Disease or disease process.

39. -plasty: Surgical repair.

40. Poly-: Many.

41. Pseudo-: False or deceptive, usually in regard to appearance.

42. Retro-: Behind or backward.

Medical root words

43. Cardi/o: Related to the heart.

44. Derm/a/o, dermat/o: Pertaining to the skin.

45. Encephal/o: Related to the brain.

46. Gastr/o: Related to the stomach.

47. Hemat/o: Pertaining to blood.

48. My/o: Related to muscle.

49. Oste/o: Related to the bone.

50. Pulmon/o: Refers to the lungs.

51. Rhin/o: Related to the nose.

52. Sclerosis: Hard or hardening.

53. Stasis: Slowing or stopping the flow of bodily fluid.

54. Therm/o: Indicates heat.

Medical abbreviations and acronyms

55. ALS: Advanced life support.

56. Bl wk: Blood work.

57. BMI: Body mass index, a measure of body fat based on height and weight.

58. BP: Blood pressure.

59. CPR: Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, a life-saving technique that’s also called mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

60. C-spine: Cervical spine.

62. DNR: Do not resuscitate, a medical order indicating providers should not perform CPR.

63. ED/ER: Emergency department or emergency room.

64. EKG: Electrocardiogram, a way of monitoring the heart and testing for problems.

65. HDL-C: High-density lipoprotein cholesterol, often called “good” cholesterol.

66. HR: Heart rate, expressed as beats per minute.

67. LDL-C: Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, often called “bad” cholesterol.

68. Lytes: Electrolytes.

69. NICU: Neonatal intensive care unit, a specialized unit that cares for premature infants.

70. OR: The operating room where surgeries are performed.

71. Pre-op: Preoperative.

72. Psych: Refers to psychiatry or the psychiatric ward.

73. PT: Physical therapy, a type of treatment to help patients move and feel better.

74. Rx: Prescription, usually for medication but can also signify another treatment.

75. Stat: Immediately.

Medical terminology also uses Greek and Latin adjectives or compounds to connect nouns, verbs, or combining forms. The combining form ‘o’ is mostly found after the prefix: take the Greek prefix my/mys (muscle) and add the combining ‘o’ form; leaving us with ‘myo.’ If we add the Greek root word ‘cardio’ (heart), and the suffix ‘itis’ (inflammation), we have formed ‘myocarditis’, a muscle layer of the heart that is inflamed. Recognizing the Greek and Latin word origins is key to understanding medical terminology.

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