Basic Medical Terminology - F Trivia Quiz

Answer: iron (abbreviation)

Fe is the chemical symbol for iron and is derived from the Latin word for iron, "ferrum". Iron is an essential element in a number of biochemical processes that occur in the human body. It is an essential component of haemoglobin which is crucial to the transport of oxygen by the red blood cells. Anaemia is a medical condition caused by a deficiency of red blood cells and/or haemoglobin. Anaemia is treated with iron, usually orally or by injection - this is called ferrotherapy.

Answer: a hormone (abbreviation)

FSH stands for follicle stimulating hormone - a hormone synthesised and released by the pituitary gland. FSH stimulates the growth and maturation (ripening) of the follicles in the ovary, the secretion of the hormone oestrogen, and the formation of sperm in the testes.

Answer: shape, like

The suffix -form at the end of a word often indicates shape. The word part in front of it tells you what the shape is. For example, lentiform means shaped like a lens or lentil, cruciform means shaped like a cross and dentiform like a tooth. One of the bones of the wrist is called the pisiform because it is pea-shaped.

The appendix is often called the vermiform appendix because it is worm-like. It may also occur in words like uniform (one shape) or malformed (badly shaped). The suffix is derived from the Latin words "formis" and "forma" meaning like, shape or form.

Answer: thigh

Words beginning with femor- or femor/o relate to the femur or thigh bone in the upper leg, extending from the hip to the knee. It is the longest and strongest bone in the body. The adjective femoral is used to describe things which relate to the femur, such as the femoral artery and the femoral nerve. It is derived from the Latin word "femur" meaning thigh.

Answer: luminous, flowing

These word parts were created from the word "fluorescence", a term coined by English mathematician and physicist Sir George G. Stokes (1819-1903) in 1852. Stokes defined fluorescence as having the property of glowing in ultraviolet light. An example of usage is the term fluoroscopy, a technique involving an instrument called a fluoroscope.

A fluoroscope utilises x-ray radiation and a fluorescent screen to provide moving images of structures within the body. The term fluorescence and the word parts fluor- and fluor/o are ultimately derived from the Latin "fluor" meaning a flow or flowing.

It is also where the word fluent (speech which flows freely) comes from.

Answer: pour, unite

The suffix -fusion is derived from the Latin "fusionem" and "fusio" meaning an outpouring, or to pour or melt. By the 18th century, fusion had acquired the meaning of being united or blended. In medical terms, fusion may mean to fuse or unite; for example, in spinal fusion, two or more vertebrae (spinal bones) are permanently connected so that they do not move independently. Fusion may also mean to pour and this meaning is seen in words such as transfusion - the transfer (or "pouring") of blood or fluids from one person into the circulatory system of another.

Answer: fibre, thread

Hopefully everyone will recognise the obvious here. Fibr/o and fibros/o are derived from the Latin "fibra" meaning fibre or thread. Medical words that contain these word parts usually refer to the muscle fibres. In cardiology, fibrillation refers to the involuntary "twitching" of a small group of muscle fibres in the atria or ventricles of the heart.

A fibroid (fibroid tumour or fibroma) is so-called because it has a fibrous structure.

Answer: band, fascia

Fascia (plural fasciae) is a sheet or band of connective tissue that connects body parts such as muscle fibres, nerves, and blood vessels. In Latin, "fascia" means a band, bandage, or ribbon. A common medical complaint is myofasciitis - inflammation of a muscle and its fascia.

Answer: break

The medical term fracture is used to indicate the breaking of a body part, usually a broken bone. It comes from the Latin "fractura" meaning a breach, break, or cleft. There are many different types of fractures, ranging from a thin crack (hairline fracture) to a complete break into two or more pieces.

Answer: bend or turn

The word part -flex- comes from the Latin "flectere", meaning to bend or turn. Flexors are muscles that bend a joint (as opposed to extensors which straighten a joint). The expression "to flex your muscles" is actually anatomically incorrect. Muscles do not flex - muscles can only contract.

It is the movable joints that flex. That is, flexion occurs when a joint is bent by muscular contraction. Dorsiflexion is bending backwards of the hand or foot.