Most medical terms are built from three parts: a prefix at the start, a root (usually a body part) in the middle, and a suffix at the end. Learn the common parts and you can work out words you have never seen. "Pericarditis" is peri- (around) + cardi (heart) + -itis (inflammation). The 30 cards below cover the parts you will meet most often. Meanings are checked against the NIH MedlinePlus medical words tutorial.
The root tells you which part of the body the word is about.
cardi- / cardio-
Heart. Example: cardiology, the study of the heart.
gastr- / gastro-
Stomach. Example: gastritis, inflammation of the stomach.
hepat- / hepato-
Liver. Example: hepatitis, inflammation of the liver.
nephr-
Kidney. Example: nephrectomy, removal of a kidney.
oste- / osteo-
Bone. Example: osteology, the study of bones.
my- / myo-
Muscle. Example: cardiomyopathy, disease of the heart muscle.
neur- / neuro-
Nerve. Example: neuropathy, disease of the nerves.
derm- / derma-
Skin. Example: dermatitis, inflammation of the skin.
encephal-
Brain. Example: encephalitis, inflammation of the brain.
hem- / hemo-
Blood. Example: hemorrhage, heavy bleeding.
angi- / angio-
Blood vessel. Example: angiogram, an image of blood vessels.
pneum- / pneumo-
Lung. Example: pneumonitis, inflammation of the lungs.
col- / colo-
Colon (large intestine). Example: colonoscopy, viewing the colon with a scope.
ophthalm-
Eye. Example: ophthalmology, the study and treatment of the eye.
rhin- / rhino-
Nose. Example: rhinitis, inflammation of the nose.
thromb- / thrombo-
Blood clot. Example: thrombosis, a blood clot forming in a vessel.
A prefix comes before the root. It often tells you about level, speed or position.
hyper-
Above normal. Example: hyperglycemia, blood sugar above normal.
hypo-
Below normal. Example: hypoglycemia, blood sugar below normal.
tachy-
Fast. Example: tachycardia, a fast heart rate.
brady-
Slow. Example: bradycardia, a slow heart rate.
peri-
Around. Example: pericarditis, inflammation of the area around the heart.
dys-
Not working correctly. Example: dysfunction.
endo-
Within or inside. Example: endoscopy, viewing the inside of the body with a scope.
A suffix comes at the end. It usually names a condition or a procedure.
-itis
Inflammation. Example: arthritis, inflammation of a joint.
-ectomy
Surgical removal. Example: appendectomy, removal of the appendix.
-otomy
Cutting into. Example: tracheotomy, a cut into the windpipe.
-ostomy
Making an opening. Example: colostomy, an opening from the colon through the belly wall.
-scopy
Looking inside with an instrument. Example: colonoscopy.
-gram
A picture or record. Example: echocardiogram, an ultrasound picture of the heart.
-emia
A blood condition. Example: anemia, too few healthy red blood cells.
Learn word parts before whole words. There are far fewer parts than terms, and each part you know unlocks dozens of words. Put the part on the front and its meaning plus one example on the back, as above.
Once the parts stick, add a second kind of card that goes the other way: a full term on the front ("gastroenteritis"), and on the back the parts and what they mean together. These cards test whether you can actually use the parts, which is what your exam will ask.
Review a few minutes every day and let the cards you know well come back less often. A spaced repetition app like Anki does that scheduling for you.
Your course will have its own word list. StudyCards AI turns your lecture slides or textbook chapter into flashcards like these in about a minute, and you can export them to Anki.