мед.лексика

Introduction
1. Origin of medical terminology
2. General lexical structure
2.1. Word root
2.2. Prefix
2.3. Suffix
2.4. Acronyms
Conclusion
References and sources

Hence, suffix is the ending part of a word that modifies the meaning of the word. The list of common suffixes which are used in medicine also numbers in excess of one hundred. Suffixes can be grouped under two categories - grammatical or semantic. In addition to expressing grammatical function (noun or adjectival forms) suffixes often have a specific semantic role in medical terminology, indicating aspects such as condition, disease or procedure.Suffixes are categorized as either asneeding the combining form, or as not needing the combining form since they start with a vowel.Combining forms in terminology are where the vowel «o» combines two roots and/or prefix and root, or root and suffix (where the latter begins with a consonant). Combining forms have the functional purpose of facilitating pronunciation. If a suffix begins with a vowel, the combining vowel is usually omitted. However, where the root ends with a vowel other than «o», the combining vowel is often applied. Some examples of the medical suffixes are given in table 3.Table 3. Examples of suffixesSuffixMeaningExample-AEMIAcondition of bloodleukaemia = cancer of blood cells-ECTOMYexcision / removalnephrectomy = excision of a kidney-ITISinflammationhepatitis = inflammation of the liver-OLOGYstudy / science ofcytology = the study of cells-OMAtumourretinoblastoma = tumour of the eye-PATHYdiseaseneuropathy = disease of the nervous system-OSISdisease /conditionnecrosis = dying cellsAcronymsAt the end, it is also worth to notice that in medical terminology aronyms are used often. They are specific and need to be learned altogether with root words, prefixes and suffixes. Medical acronyms could be considered as a medical slang. They areused to describe patients, other healthcare personnel and medical concepts. Examples of some of the medical acronyms are listed below.CAT—Computerized axial tomographyDRG—Diagnosis-related groupICU—Intensive care unitNB—NewbornPA—Physician assistantWHO—World Health OrganizationBP—Blood pressureCNS—Central nervous systemDD—Differential diagnosisO.D.—Right eyeO.S.—Left eyeRBC—Red blood countWBC—White blood countConclusionThe process of learning any new language, such as medical terminology, is facilitated by learning basic rules.To the untrained eye, medical terms may often seem to be the same. But the smallest of differences can make a big difference in reimbursement. The approach involves breaking down the word by evaluating the meaning of the suffix first, then prefix, and finally the word root. This will generally produce a good result for the experienced health care professional. When in doubt, the result should be verified by a medical terminology dictionary. Medical terminology can be confusing, but after learning the common prefixes and suffixes, it is easy to deduce the meaning of medical terms.References and sourcesSteiner S.S., Capps N.P. Quick Medical Terminology: A Self-Teaching Guide Paperback.- John Wiley:New Jersey, 2003. - 310 p.Chabner D. Medical Terminology: A Short Course. - Williams & Wilkins, 2011. - 250 p.Ehrlich A.,Schroeder C. L. Medical Terminology for Health Professions. - Wiley: Canada. - 2010. - 347 p.Adam T. Fox, Michael Fertleman, Pauline Cahill, and Roger D. Palmer (2003). Medical slang in British hospitals. Ethics and Behaviour13 (2), 2003, pp. 173–189.Renee R. Anspach. Notes on the Sociology of Medical Discourse: The Language of Case Presentatio. Journal of Health and Social Behavior 29 (4), 1988, pp. 357–375.Webster's Medical Dictionary (MedlinePlus) http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/mplusdictionary.html