Log InSign Up Free

Medical Terminology Flashcards: 67 Prefixes, Suffixes & Roots

Study 67 common medical prefixes, suffixes, and roots with installable flashcards based on the U.S. National Library of Medicine tutorial.

By author Flashcards Open Source App

About this deck

Medical Terminology Flashcards: 67 Prefixes, Suffixes & Roots

Study 67 medical word-part → English meaning mappings from the U.S. National Library of Medicine's MedlinePlus Understanding Medical Words tutorial. This beginner deck teaches terminology only and is not medical advice.

What is included

  • 37 root and body-part mapping groups plus 30 beginning and ending mapping groups taught in the tutorial's finite Word Roots and Beginnings and Endings sections.
  • One ordinary basic card per mapping group. The front is the shortest unambiguous word-part cue, with true source-listed spelling variants grouped on one card. The back begins with the English meaning.
  • The single tag medical-word-parts on every card.

How recall works

Every card practices one direction: medical word part → English meaning. Meaning → word-part reverse cards are excluded because multiple roots or affixes can share a meaning, so a reverse cue is often ambiguous. Term-construction and composite prompts are excluded because assembling a medical term is a different skill from recalling one word part. Abbreviations and full medical-term definitions are also excluded so each review has one clear target.

Learning order

The first seven cards establish familiar roots for bone, heart, nerves, skin, stomach, brain, and kidney. The remaining 60 cards alternate roots with beginnings or endings. Opposite size, level, and speed pairs are separated by 16 cards; related procedure endings and specialist endings are also spaced apart. Closely related anatomy roots are distributed across the sequence rather than placed in body-system runs, and no adjacent cards are synonymous, opposites, or an exact word-part combination used by the tutorial's examples. The order is fixed and deterministic.

Related study guides

Sources and license

The mapping inventory and every answer were checked against the National Library of Medicine's Understanding Medical Words tutorial, including its Word Roots and Beginnings and Endings sections. MedlinePlus Appendix A was used as the broader word-parts reference, but entries not taught in the finite tutorial were excluded. The source review was completed on August 16, 2026.

Source facts are acknowledged rather than relicensed. The organization, wording, metadata, description, and generated cover artwork are original and dedicated under CC0 1.0 Universal. This independent study deck is not affiliated with or endorsed by the National Library of Medicine, the National Institutes of Health, or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Cards in this deck

  1. Card 1

    Question

    oste-, osteo-

    Answer

    Bone.

  2. Card 2

    Question

    cardi-, cardio-

    Answer

    Heart.

  3. Card 3

    Question

    neur-

    Answer

    Nerves.

  4. Card 4

    Question

    derm-, derma-

    Answer

    Skin.

  5. Card 5

    Question

    gastr-, gastro-

    Answer

    Stomach.

  6. Card 6

    Question

    enceph-

    Answer

    Brain.

  7. Card 7

    Question

    neph-

    Answer

    Kidney.

  8. Card 8

    Question

    macro-

    Answer

    Very large.

  9. Card 9

    Question

    myo-

    Answer

    Muscle.

  10. Card 10

    Question

    hyper-

    Answer

    Above normal.

  11. Card 11

    Question

    rhino-

    Answer

    Nose.

  12. Card 12

    Question

    tachy-

    Answer

    Fast.

  13. Card 13

    Question

    aort-

    Answer

    Aorta.

  14. Card 14

    Question

    peri-

    Answer

    Around.

  15. Card 15

    Question

    hepat-, hepato-

    Answer

    Liver.

  16. Card 16

    Question

    echo-

    Answer

    Using ultrasonic waves.

  17. Card 17

    Question

    tympan-, myringo-

    Answer

    Eardrum.

  18. Card 18

    Question

    dys-

    Answer

    Not working correctly.

  19. Card 19

    Question

    arteri-, arterio-

    Answer

    Arteries.

  20. Card 20

    Question

    -ectomy

    Answer

    Removal of.

  21. Card 21

    Question

    lingu-

    Answer

    Tongue.

  22. Card 22

    Question

    -gram

    Answer

    A picture or recording.

  23. Card 23

    Question

    crani-

    Answer

    Skull.

  24. Card 24

    Question

    micro-

    Answer

    Small.

  25. Card 25

    Question

    brachi-, brachio-

    Answer

    Arm.

  26. Card 26

    Question

    hypo-

    Answer

    Below normal.

  27. Card 27

    Question

    angi-, angio-

    Answer

    Blood vessels.

  28. Card 28

    Question

    brady-

    Answer

    Slow.

  29. Card 29

    Question

    cholecyst-

    Answer

    Gallbladder.

  30. Card 30

    Question

    trans-

    Answer

    Across.

  31. Card 31

    Question

    ophthalm-, ocul-, oculo-

    Answer

    Eye.

  32. Card 32

    Question

    electro-

    Answer

    Using electricity.

  33. Card 33

    Question

    vas-, vasc-

    Answer

    Veins and arteries.

  34. Card 34

    Question

    mal-

    Answer

    Bad.

  35. Card 35

    Question

    esoph-, esopha-, esophag-

    Answer

    Esophagus.

  36. Card 36

    Question

    -otomy

    Answer

    Making a cut in.

  37. Card 37

    Question

    scapula-

    Answer

    Shoulder.

  38. Card 38

    Question

    -graph, -graphy

    Answer

    The process of making a picture.

  39. Card 39

    Question

    dorsa-

    Answer

    Back.

  40. Card 40

    Question

    -osis

    Answer

    A condition or disease.

  41. Card 41

    Question

    thorac-, thoraco-

    Answer

    Chest.

  42. Card 42

    Question

    -ology

    Answer

    The study of a part of the body.

  43. Card 43

    Question

    carp-, carpo-

    Answer

    Wrist.

  44. Card 44

    Question

    -iatry

    Answer

    Medical treatment.

  45. Card 45

    Question

    ileo-

    Answer

    Small intestine.

  46. Card 46

    Question

    inter-

    Answer

    Between.

  47. Card 47

    Question

    mamm-, mammo-

    Answer

    Breast.

  48. Card 48

    Question

    -eal

    Answer

    Pertaining to.

  49. Card 49

    Question

    odont-, dento-

    Answer

    Tooth.

  50. Card 50

    Question

    -emia

    Answer

    A blood condition.

  51. Card 51

    Question

    ven-, veno-, phleb-, phlebo-

    Answer

    Veins.

  52. Card 52

    Question

    -stomy, -ostomy

    Answer

    Creating an opening.

  53. Card 53

    Question

    ceph-

    Answer

    Head.

  54. Card 54

    Question

    -itis

    Answer

    Inflammation.

  55. Card 55

    Question

    thromb-, thrombo-

    Answer

    Blood clot.

  56. Card 56

    Question

    -pathy

    Answer

    Disease.

  57. Card 57

    Question

    colo-

    Answer

    Large intestine.

  58. Card 58

    Question

    -ologist

    Answer

    A person who works with a specific body part or disease.

  59. Card 59

    Question

    pneumo-, pleura-

    Answer

    Lung.

  60. Card 60

    Question

    -iatrist

    Answer

    A person who provides a specific treatment.

  61. Card 61

    Question

    oto-

    Answer

    Ear.

  62. Card 62

    Question

    endo-

    Answer

    Within or inside.

  63. Card 63

    Question

    cost-, costo-

    Answer

    Rib.

  64. Card 64

    Question

    -scopy

    Answer

    Use of an instrument for viewing.

  65. Card 65

    Question

    hem-, hemo-, sangu-

    Answer

    Blood.

  66. Card 66

    Question

    megalo-, -megaly

    Answer

    Large.

  67. Card 67

    Question

    pod-, podo-, ped-, pedo-

    Answer

    Foot.

Blank modular word-part tiles connect a heart, bone, brain, and stomach on a deep blue background.

67 cards

Medical Terminology Flashcards: 67 Prefixes, Suffixes & Roots

Study this deck for free

Flashcards opens so you can start studying.