How to Memorize Medical Terminology: 196 Flashcards on Prefixes, Suffixes and Word Roots
Learn medical terminology the fast way: 196 flashcards on Greek and Latin prefixes, suffixes, roots, body planes and movement terms, plus two building tips.
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There are roughly 15,000 medical terms in common clinical use and almost nobody memorizes them one by one. They are assembled from a few hundred Greek and Latin parts, and the students who get through the first year fastest are the ones who learn the parts and build the rest on demand.
Study this deck: Medical Terminology: Prefixes, Suffixes & Roots
1 / 10nephr(os)
Tap the card for the answer · swipe right if you knew it, left if not
The Medical Terminology: Prefixes, Suffixes and Roots deck (code OR9102, 196 cards) on Flip It is designed around that logic: it teaches the affixes, then shows you the assembled term with its decomposition written out.
A sample of the deck
| Card front | Card back |
|---|---|
| -itis | Inflammation |
| gastroenteritis | Inflammation of the stomach and intestines (gastro- + enter- + -itis) |
| Cholelithiasis | The presence of gallstones (chole- + lith- + -iasis) |
| What vowel is most commonly used in forming medical combining forms? | The letter -o- |
| musculus | Little mouse (applied to muscles) |
| periosteum | Membrane around bone (Greek perí + ostéon) |
| Sagittal plane | A plane that divides the body into left and right portions |
| Circumduction | A conical movement combining flexion, extension, abduction and adduction |
| Sesamoid bone | A bone embedded in a tendon (e.g., patella/kneecap) |
| Enthesis | The connective tissue attaching tendons and ligaments to bones |
What the 196 cards cover
Prefixes: ab-, ad-, anti-, circum-, endo-, enter-, epi-, ex-, exo-, gastro-, hyper-, hypo-, neo-, neuro-, para-, peri-, sub-, sym- / syn-, trans-, arthr-, cardio-, cerebr-, chole-, crani-, derm- / dermat-, hemo- / hema-, hepat-, histo-, lith-, ren-, splen-, therm-.
Suffixes: -itis, -logy, -ology, -oid, -pathy, -pathology, -iasis, -vascular.
Anatomical position and movement: anterior, posterior, superior, inferior, proximal, distal, medial, lateral, superficial, deep, dorsal, ventral, caudal, cephalic; the sagittal, coronal and transverse planes; abduction, adduction, flexion, extension, hyperextension, elevation, depression, internal and external rotation, circumduction, pronation, supination, palmarflexion, dorsiflexion, plantarflexion, inversion and eversion of the foot.
Systems and structures: atrium and ventricle, pericardium, hemoglobin, cerebral, renal and bronchial circulation, lymphoid tissue, antigen, neuron, the autonomic nervous system with its sympathetic, parasympathetic and enteric divisions, hypothalamus and pituitary, thyroid and thyroxine, pineal and melatonin, adrenal glands, gonads, testosterone, estrogen, progesterone, pancreas, thymus, exocrine glands, homeostasis, thermoregulation.
Cavities, airways and tissue: thoracic and abdominal cavities, peritoneum, mediastinum, axilla, inguinal region, alveoli, pharynx, larynx, trachea, bronchi and bronchioles, pleura, diaphragm, intercostal muscles; epidermis, dermis, hypodermis, subcutaneous, integumentary system; cartilage, tendon, ligament, endosteum, marrow, compact and spongy bone, ossification, synovial fluid, fascia; nephron, ureter, urethra, electrolytes, histology, histopathology, gross anatomy.
Two tips specific to this deck
Use the decomposition cards as construction exercises, not reading. Cover the back of Cholelithiasis and build it yourself from chole- (bile), lith- (stone) and -iasis (presence of). Do the same with Pericardium, Endosteum, Epidermis, Arthrology and Neonatology. The card that names -o- as the standard combining vowel is what tells you it is gastroenteritis and not gastrenteritis — learn it early and the spelling of every compound stops being guesswork.
Drill the opposites as pairs and the doublets as pairs. ab- / ad-, endo- / exo-, hyper- / hypo-, epi- / sub-, anterior / posterior, proximal / distal, medial / lateral, dorsal / ventral, parietal / visceral, atrium / ventricle, pronation / supination. Then the Greek-Latin doublets that exist for the same organ: nephr(os) and ren(es) both mean kidney, which is why you get both nephrology and renal failure. A card learned alone is a card confused with its opposite two weeks later.
Watch the irregular plurals while you go: bronchus / bronchi, alveolus / alveoli, pleura / pleurae, testis / testes, sinus / sinuses. Exam questions love them.
Once the vocabulary holds, move to the applied decks: head, neck and spine anatomy and common diseases.
Open Flip It and look up deck OR9102 in the library.
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