Basic Medical Terminology - I Trivia Quiz

Answer: inflammation, infection

This suffix is one of the most common endings used to denote a medical condition. It means infection or inflammation. Infection means the invasion of the body by disease-causing organisms (also called pathogens) such as bacteria and viruses. Inflammation is the body's response to any kind of damage (by infection or injury) and typically involves four classic signs and symptoms - pain, redness, heat and/or swelling.

The word part used in front of the suffix -itis tells you which part of the body is involved; for example, dermatitis (skin), gastritis (stomach), laryngitis (larynx or voice box) and arthritis (joint).

Answer: abnormal condition

The suffix -iasis means abnormal condition. As for the suffix -itis, the word parts used in front of the suffix -iasis will usually indicate which part of the body is involved in the abnormal condition. Some examples of usage include cholelithiasis (abnormal condition of gall stones) and nephrolithiasis (abnormal condition of kidney stones). Psoriasis is an abnormal condition of the skin (derived from the Greek "psora" meaning itch, mange, or scab).

Answer: treatment, doctor

The word parts iatr- and iatr/o mean doctor, healer or treatment and are derived from the Greek word "iatros" having the same meaning. They occur in the names of some of the areas of medicine, namely paediatrics (treatment of children), geriatrics (treatment of the elderly) and psychiatry (treatment of the mind). Iatr/o also appears in the word iatrogenic, which refers to a medical condition caused by the doctor or by the treatment (genic = generated or produced by); for example, side effects caused by a prescribed medication.

Answer: same, equal

Iso- is a prefix derived from the Greek "isos" meaning same, equal, or like. An example of usage is the term isometropia, which means having equal power of refraction in both eyes (iso- = equal, metr- = measure, -opia = eye condition). Another example is isotope.

A chemical element may have different forms, called isotopes, which have the same number of protons in the nucleus, and the same atomic number, but different numbers of neutrons. Isotope means "same place" in Greek (because the isotopes occupy the same place in the periodic table of elements). Radioactive isotopes are used in radiotherapy for the treatment of cancer.

Answer: intravenous (abbreviation)

IV stands for intravenous, meaning into or within a vein. Intravenous therapy refers to treatment that delivers liquid substances directly into a vein for reasons such as fluid replacement (in cases of dehydration), delivery of medication, and blood transfusion.

Answer: scaly, fish

The Greek word for fish is "ikhthys". You may be familiar with the Christian adoption of the fish symbol (also called ichthys). In medical terminology, the word parts ichthy- and ichthy/o denote scaly. The most common application of these word parts is in the word ichthyosis (ichthy- = fish/scaly, -osis = abnormal condition).

It refers to a genetic skin disorder in which there is abnormally scaly skin.

Answer: between

The prefix inter- means between. Examples of usage include intercellular (between the cells), intercostal (between the ribs) and intervertebral (between the vertebrae or bones of the spine).

Answer: within, inside

The prefix intra- means within, into or inside. Examples of usage include intravenous (into the vein), intramuscular (into the muscle), and intradermal (into the skin). These words are often used in relation to injections and indicate where the injected substance is placed.

Answer: own, personal, individual

This word part is derived from the Greek "idios" meaning one's own, personal or private. One of the most common medical terms in which it occurs is idiopathic, a term which is used to describe a medical condition which arises spontaneously and does not appear to have an apparent cause.

In other words, rather than having a recognised external cause, the condition is regarded as arising from within the patient themselves (one's own personal disorder). You may be familiar with the word idiosyncrasy, which refers to the individual characteristics by which people differ (often used in the implication that someone is a bit peculiar).

The word "idiot" is also derived from the same source. In Ancient Greek society, it was generally expected that people would take an interest in, and become involved in, public affairs and community events. People who appeared to be uninterested in public affairs, and engaged in private and solitary pursuits instead, were called "idiots", which essentially meant a private person.

They were regarded as unintelligent, ignorant and useless to society. But the application of the word idiot was not as derogatory then as it is today and it did not carry the connotation of profound intellectual disability.

Answer: body parts

The ileum and the ilium are both body parts. The ileum is the lowest of the three segments of the small intestine. The ilium is part of the hip bone - one of the bones making up each half of the pelvis (the prominent one you can feel above your hip joint).

Although they are two quite separate and distinct organs, they are both located in close proximity in the pelvic region. It is not surprising, therefore, given the similarity between the two words, they both stem from the same source - the Latin word "ilia" meaning flank or groin.