Understanding Medical Terminology: Body Parts

Welcome to the final part of understanding medical terminology: body parts and organs. Like everything else we’ve discussed so far, there are specific word roots for all the organs and body-parts. They are rooted in Greek and Latin, unsurprisingly. Greek and Latin is even combined for certain terminology. Let’s look at a few important examples.

Note the spelling differences between British English and American English. Both are correct, but it depends on which version of English you use.

This list is by no means exhaustive. You will find many more terms online or in a medical dictionary.

Organ	Greek Root	Latin Root
Blood	Haem(at)- or Hem(at)- [AmEng}	Sangui- / Sanguin-
Gall Bladder	Cholecyst(o)-	Fell-
Heart	Cardi(o)-	Cordi-
Kidney	Nephr(o)-	Ren-
Liver	Hepat(o)-	Jecor-
Lungs	Pneumon-	Pulmon(i)- (Pulmo-)
Brain	Encephal-	Cerebr-

Blood

Haematology focuses on the study of the blood, specifically the blood cells. It involves measuring the number of each type of blood cell and assessing them under the microscope for abnormal changes. This tells you a lot about the health status of the patient.

Haematemesis means ‘vomiting blood’, a symptom that can be very concerning. ‘Emesis’ is the root for vomiting. Haematuria means ‘blood in the urine’. Haemostasis means to ‘stop bleeding.’

CPR

CPR stands for ‘cardiopulmonary resuscitation’, a word that combines Greek and Latin roots. You should learn CPR if you don’t already know how to do it, you never know when it could come in handy to save someone’s life.

The basics involve chest compressions to circulate the blood and pump the heart, providing breath or oxygen. Defibirillators only help if the heart has an abnormal rhythm, if there is no pulse you need to keep up the chest compressions.

Unfortunately CPR in real life is nothing like the movies. It’s rarely successful and if the brain lacks oxygen for more than a few minutes then damage is highly likely to occur. A person who needs CPR will need time in intensive care to recover. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try, though.

Conclusion

I’ve given examples of a range of word roots from medical terminology but the combinations are endless. There are entire dictionaries of medicine. It’s important to use medical terminology correctly though, as some of the terms are easy to confuse.

Even if you’re writing medical dramas like Greys Anatomy, keeping the medical jargon to a minimum is a good idea. Most people won’t know a lot of these terms and you don’t want to send your readers running to search up definitions every other paragraph.

I hope this series has been helpful. I’m always happy to help with any questions regarding medical subject, especially animal related ones. So drop me a line if you need help.

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