| Medical terminology is the basis of all medical careers. | | | | is added to make the term make sense. |
| Whether you go into a hands-on career such as | | | | In a medical transcription or other medical-related |
| nursing or want to start your career as a medical | | | | career, the deciphering process is a vital part of |
| transcriptionist, you need a thorough understanding of | | | | understanding the medical term. It usually requires |
| medical terminology to succeed. It’s the starting | | | | practice on your part to effectively and accurately |
| point for a career in the medical field. | | | | form and decipher medical terms. To understand a |
| Medical terminology can be defined as an | | | | medical term, you need to break down the word and |
| industry-specific vocabulary for accurately describing | | | | look at its component parts: root word, prefix and |
| the human body and associated conditions, procedures | | | | suffix. By evaluating them one-by-one, you can learn |
| and diagnoses. It involves three basic parts: root words, | | | | each meaning and then put them together for full |
| prefixes, and suffixes. The root word is a term derived | | | | comprehension. |
| from a source language, such as Greek or Latin, and | | | | Understanding medical terminology is fundamental to |
| usually describes a body part. It is the main, or middle, | | | | accurately performing medical careers such as |
| part of the word. The prefix is an affix that is added to | | | | medical transcription. Without a complete |
| the front of the root word. It is used to modify the | | | | understanding, you would not be able to accurately |
| word’s meaning and give additional information | | | | spell or use medical terminology in your transcriptions. |
| about the medical term, such as location, number or | | | | All medical professionals consult their medical |
| time. The suffix is an affix that is added to the end of | | | | dictionaries on a regular basis – add a handy |
| a word. It is also used to add meaning to the word, | | | | medical dictionary to your reference library. It’s the |
| such as condition, process, or procedure. Put together, | | | | perfect way to learn and verify medical terminology. |
| the root word, prefix and suffix create a specific | | | | Medical terminology is the basis of all medical-related |
| medical term. | | | | careers. Think of it as a stepping stone to reach your |
| It is important to note that in medical terminology, the | | | | ultimate career goal. You will get the foundation you |
| root word usually doesn’t make sense alone – it | | | | need to do your job in an accurate manner. Your |
| wouldn’t be used as a standalone word in a | | | | thorough knowledge of root words, prefixes and |
| sentence. This is because medical root words are | | | | suffixes will lead to success in your career. |
| derived from foreign languages. The prefix and suffix | | | | |