Basic Medical Terminology - G Trivia Quiz

Answer: pregnant

The term gravid describes a pregnant woman and comes from the Latin "gravitus", meaning pregnancy. This in turn is derived from the Latin "gravis" meaning heavy or burdensome. Thus gravid is related to words such as grave, in the sense of being serious or severe; e.g. we may speak of someone being gravely ill.

In obstetrics, the suffix -gravida is often used to describe women in terms of the number of pregnancies that are applicable; a nulligravida is a woman who has never been pregnant, a primigravida is a woman in her first pregnancy, and a multigravida is a woman who has been pregnant more than once.

Answer: glucose tolerance test

A glucose tolerance test is a common procedure for the diagnosis of a number of medical conditions, usually diabetes. The patient is advised to fast prior to the test and is then given a specific amount of glucose solution to drink. Blood and/or urine specimens are then taken at regular time intervals. The test measures how well the body is able to process the glucose.

Answer: stomach

Gastr- and gastr/o are word parts that refer to the stomach and are derived from the Greek "gaster" meaning belly or paunch. To the Ancient Greeks, "gaster" could refer to anything that is round and protruding. In modern medical terminology, the word parts pertain specifically to the stomach, but the ancient meaning is still seen in words such as gastrocnemius, the large muscle that forms the calf of the lower leg. Gastrocnemius literally translates as "the belly of the leg". With respect to the organ known as the stomach, some common examples include gastric (pertaining to the stomach), gastritis (infection or inflammation of the stomach), and gastrectomy (removal of the stomach).

Answer: gums

Gingiv/o and gingiv- refer to the gums, from the Latin word gingivae, also meaning gums. The correct anatomical name for the gums is the gingiva (plural gingivae). The most common example of usage is the term gingivitis - infection or inflammation of the gums. "Trench mouth" is an acute and severe form of gingivitis - this term originated from World War I as many soldiers suffered from this disorder because of the lack of dental care and the harsh conditions under which they lived.

Answer: tongue

The Greek word "glossa" means tongue, giving us the word parts gloss- and gloss/o which are used in medical terms which relate to the tongue, such as glossectomy (removal of all or part of the tongue) and glossoplasty (surgical repair or plastic surgery of the tongue). These word parts also occur in non-medical words such as glossary (a list of words).

Answer: sugar, sweet

Gluc- and gluc/o mean sugar and are ultimately derived from the Greek word "glukus" meaning sweet. Glucose is a word most people will know from common usage. It is a simple sugar that is the chief source of energy for living organisms. The term glucose was created by a committee of the French Academie des Sciences in 1838.

Their purpose was to name the main component sugar of the grape, of starch, and of diabetic urine. They settled on glucose, from the Greek "glukus" and the Latin "-osus" (meaning full of, having the qualities of).

The last three letters of glucose, -ose, became a biochemical suffix indicating a carbohydrate. A glucometer is an instrument which measures blood sugar - many diabetic patients have their own glucometer.

Answer: record, recording

The suffixes -gram, -graph, and -graphy all relate to recording and are derived from the Greek word "graphein" which means to write. In modern medical terminology, -gram means "record of", -graph means "instrument to record", and -graphy means "process of recording".

The best way to illustrate the difference in the endings is with an example, such as the ECG. E stands for electro- (electricity), C for cardio- (heart) and G for -gram, -graph, or -graphy, depending on context. An electrocardiograph is an instrument which will record the electrical activity of the heart. An electrocardiogram is the actual record produced by the machine; that is, the strip of paper with the written tracing on it.

The name of the procedure that the patient undergoes is called electrocardiography - this is the service that the patient or their insurance company pays for (not the machine or the strip of paper).

Answer: marriage

You may be familiar with these word parts from words such as monogamy (one marriage) and polygamy (many marriages - referring to either a male or female being married to more than one spouse simultaneously). The word parts are derived from the Greek "gamein" meaning "to marry".

In medical terminology, the male sex cell (sperm or spermatozoon) and the female sex cell (egg or ovum) are called gametes because they unite or "marry" to create a fertilised cell which has the potential to become a new human being. Gametogenesis is the development of the male and female sex cells (gametes).

Answer: grey, silvery

Glauc/o is a word part that means silvery or grey. It is directly borrowed from the Greek "glaukoma", which means "silvery swelling", and it referred to any condition of the eye where the eye appeared opaque or silvery-grey in colour, such as glaucoma, cataracts or other medical conditions involving opacity of the lens.

In modern usage, it refers to disorders which involve increased pressure within the eyeball. Glaucoma will lead to blindness if left untreated.

Answer: knowledge

These word parts are derived from the Greek "gnosis" meaning knowledge. They occur in words such as diagnosis and prognosis. Diagnosis literally translates as "complete or thorough knowledge" - meaning that the doctor makes a diagnosis after gathering enough data to have a thorough understanding or knowledge of the patient's problem.

A prognosis is when the doctor predicts the likely outcome of a disorder and literally translates as "before knowledge" - meaning that the doctor has knowledge of what will happen before it happens.