Basic Medical Terminology - P (Part 1) Quiz

Answer: groove from nose to lip

The philtrum is the groove that runs vertically between the upper lip and the nose. The name is derived from the Greek "philtron" meaning love charm. It is presumed that this bodily feature was so-named because it plays a role in sexual attraction and is an erogenous zone stimulated by kissing.

Answer: bones of fingers and toes

The anatomical term "phalanges" comes from the Greek "phalanx" meaning "closely knit row" or "battle array". Aristotle gave this name to the small bones of the fingers because they resembled rows of Greek warriors ready for battle. In ancient Greece, a phalanx was a formation in which the soldiers joined their shields and overlapped their spears in a close array. Later the term was also applied to the bones of the toes.

When referring to the bones, phalanx is the singular term; phalanges is the plural.

Answer: through, for, by

The prefix per- is Latin for "through, thoroughly, for, or by". It is used in a number of medical abbreviations, such as p.o. (per os = by mouth), n.p.o. (nulla per os = nothing by mouth), and p.r. (per rectum). It is also used in medical terms such as percutaneous (through the skin) and pertussis ("thoroughly coughing", referring to the severity of the cough in pertussis, also known as whooping cough).

Answer: after, behind

The prefix post- is Latin for "behind, after, or afterward". It is used in a number of medical abbreviations, such as p.c. (post cibum = after meals), p.m. (post meridian = after noon). It is also used in medical terms such as postnatal (after birth), post mortem (after death) and posterior (situated at or near the back, or behind).

Answer: when required (abbreviation)

Pro re nata is a Latin phrase which means "for the thing born", in the sense of "for an occasion that has arisen (or been born)". The meaning may seem a bit obscure in relation to its usage. In medicine, this abbreviation is used to mean "as needed" or "when required", as circumstances arise, and refers to a patient taking medication only if it is needed. It does not mean that the patient can decide the quantity of medication they take - there will be guidelines as to the maximum dosage (amount of medication and frequency of taking it).

It is the custom in medical terminology to write Latin-based abbreviations in lower case with punctuation marks (period marks or full stops); hence the correct format is p.r.n. If, however, this abbreviation stood for something in English, it would be written in uppercase with no punctuation marks (PRN).

Answer: love

The suffix -philia is derived from the Greek "philos" which means "loving". When used on the end of a medical word, it often denotes a love that is unnatural or abnormal, particularly in terms of sexual attraction. Hence, it appears frequently in medical terms in the field of psychiatry. The word part in front of the suffix will indicate the nature of the attraction. Some examples are necrophilia (sexual attraction to a corpse, necr/o = death) and paedophilia or pedophilia (sexual attraction to children, ped/o or paed/o = child/children).

A non-psychiatric example is haemophilia, a blood clotting disorder. The origin of the term haemophilia is complex and somewhat obscure, but is possibly a reference to the hereditary nature of the disease.

Answer: children or feet

This is an unusual word part because it has two entirely different meanings as a result of differences in spelling. In almost all English-speaking countries, there is a distinction between paed- and paed/o (meaning child or children) and ped- and ped/o (meaning foot or feet). However, in American English spelling, the silent "a" is deleted, so ped- and ped/o is used for both meanings - this is due to the influence of Noah Webster who instituted many variances in the spelling of English words.

Paed- and paed/o are utilised in words such as paediatrician and paediatrics (doctor/area of medicine involving treatment of children) and paedophilia (inappropriate love/sexual attraction to children).

Ped- and ped/o occur in words such as bipedal (humans are bipedal because they walk on two feet) and pedigree (referring to genealogy - from the Latin "pedem or pes" (foot) and "gruem or grus" (crane) - because the lines connecting people on a pedigree chart resemble the footprint of a crane).

Answer: eating

The Greek word "phagein", meaning "to eat or devour", gives us the word parts phag- and phag/o. They are found in words such as oesophagus (a portion of the digestive tract, or gullet) and phagocyte (a cell which plays a role in the body's defence system by engulfing and digesting bacteria, cells, and small particles of debris - literally an "eating cell").

An interesting related word is sarcophagus which literally means "flesh-eating". A sarcophagus is a stone coffin, typically made of limestone. In ancient times, it was noticed that bodies decomposed faster in a sarcophagus than in a coffin made of other materials such as wood. This observation was interpreted as the limestone eating the flesh. In reality, it was because limestone is permeable to air and water and these properties hastened decomposition of the body.

Answer: grey matter

The prefix polio- means grey and is used in a number of medical terms that refer to the "grey matter", one of the two types of nervous tissue which make up the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord). The other type is the white matter.

The most common usage relates to a disease called poliomyelitis, usually referred to simply as polio. Poliomyelitis is a viral disease which affects the nervous tissue, particularly the grey matter. It causes paralysis and inability to breathe. This medical term was coined in 1874 by the German physician, Adolph Kussmaul.

Answer: the mind

The Greek word psyche means the human mind, spirit or soul, and includes characteristics such as thought, judgement, and emotions. This word has been adopted directly into English to also refer to the essential human character. The psyche is personified in Greek mythology in the character of Psyche, a mortal woman who falls in love with Aphrodite's son, Eros, God of Love. Psyche had to undergo a number of trials in order to marry Eros.

In medical terminology, the word parts psych- and psych/o refer to the mind. Psychology and psychiatry are two areas of medicine that deal with the mind.

The essential difference between the two is that a psychologist is not a trained physician and therefore cannot prescribe medication. Psychologists study the mind and are generally concerned with behaviour and how it is affected by mental processes such as memory, thought processes, learning, personality, perception, and emotions.

A psychiatrist, on the other hand, is a doctor who has specialised in the study and treatment of mental disorders.