Common Prefixes (Medical & Health Care Terminology)

Prefixes of Number, Quantity or Sequence

Prefix Meaning Example Pronunciation* Brief Explanation
bi- having two points bicuspid bU-k\scpid having two points or prongs
di- two, twice di-amelia dU-^-mTclT-^ absence of two limbs
dipl(o)- double diploid dipcloyd having two sets of chromosomes
hex(a)- six hexadactyly hekcs^-dakcti-lT having foot or hand with six fingers or six toes
mon(o)- one monocular mon-okcyu-l^r pertaining to one eye
multi- many multipara m\l-tipc^-r^ woman who has given birth at least two times
poly- many, much polypharmacy pol-T-farcm^-sT the administration of many drugs together
prim(i)- first or foremost primipara prU-mipc^-r^ woman who has given birth for the first time
quadr(i)- four quadriplegia kwahcdri-plTcjT-^ paralysis of all four limbs
tetra- four tetraparesis tetcr^-p^-rTcsis muscular weakness affecting all four limbs
tri- three trimester trUcmes-ter period of 3 months
uni- one unicellular yu-nV-selcyu-l^r composed of one cell

Prefixes of Color
Prefix Meaning Example Pronunciation* Brief Explanation
chlor(o)- green chlorophyll klbrcb-fil any of a group of light-absorbing green pigments
cyan(o)- blue cyanosis sU-^-nbcsis bluish discoloration of the skin due to lack of oxygen
erythr(o)- red erythrocyte _-rithcrb-sUt red blood cell
leuk(o)- white leukocyte loockb-sUt white blood cell
melan(o)- black melanosis mel-^-nbcsis condition of unusual deposits of black pigments in different
parts of the body
xanth(o)- yellow xanthoderma zan-thb-dercm^ yellow coloration of the skin

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 Prefixes of Degree, Size or Comparison
Prefix Meaning Example Pronunciation* Brief Explanation
brady- slow bradycardia brad-T-karcdT-^ slowness of the heartbeat
dolicho- long dolichoprosopic dol-i-kb-pros-bcpik having a disproportionately long face
equi- equal, same equilibrium T-kwi-libcrT-\m condition of being evenly balanced
eu- true, normal, easy euthanasia yu-th^-nQczT-^ easy or painless death
heter(o)- different, other heterosexual hetcer-b-sekscyu-^l person whose sexual orientation is towards the opposite sex
homo-, same, unchanging homosexual hb-mb-sekscyu-^l person whose sexual orientation is towards the same sex
homeo-
hyper- over, excessive, hypertension hUcp_r-tencsh\n high blood pressure
increased
hypo- below, decreased, hypotension hUcpb-tencsh\n low blood pressure
under
iso- equal, same isograft Ucsb-graft graft (tissue or organ transplantation) between two genetically
identical individuals
lepto- light, thin, frail leptosomatic lepctb-sb-matcik having a slender, light, or thin body
lip(o)-, fatty, lipid lipocyte lipcb-sUt a fat-filled cell present in the liver
macro- large, abnormally large macrocyte makcrb-sUt extremely large red blood cell
mega-, large; abnormally large megacystis megc^-sis-tis pathologically large bladder in children
megalo-
micro- small microscopic mU-krb-skopcik extremely small; visible only through a microscope
neo- new neonate nTcb-nQt newborn infant
normo- normal normovolemia nbrcmb-vol-TcmT-^ normal blood volume
olig(o)- few, scanty oligomenorrhea olci-gb-men-b-rTc^ a scanty menstrual flow
ortho- straight, correct, orthotopic br-thb-topcik in the normal or usual position
upright
pan- all panacea pan-^-sTc^ remedy that cures all ill
poikilo- varied, irregular poikilocyte poycki-lb-sUt red blood cell of irregular shape
pseudo- false pseudoreaction soocdb-rT-akcsh\n a false reaction – one not due to specific causes in a given test
re- again, back rebreathing rT-brTdhcing inhalation of part or all of gases previously exhaled
semi- partial semiconscious semcT-koncsh\s partially solid
super- above, in excess supernumerary soo-per-noocmer-Qr-T exceeding the normal number
tachy- rapid tachycardia takci-karcdT-^ rapid beating of the heart

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 Prefixes of Negation
Prefix Meaning Example Pronunciation* Brief Explanation
a-, an- without asepsis Q-sepcsis condition of being free of infectious organisms
anti- against antidote anctT-dbt agent for counteracting a poison
de- from, remove dehydration dT-hU-drQcsh\n the removal of water from the body or a tissue
dis- apart, separate dissect di-sektc separate tissues for anatomical study
non- not non-toxic non tokcsik not toxic
un- not unconscious \n-koncsh\s having no awareness or response

Prefixes of Direction
Prefix Meaning Example Pronunciation* Brief Explanation
ab- from, away abneural ab-noorc^l away from the nerve or neural axis
ad- toward, near adneural ad-noorc^l lying near a nerve
dia- through dialysis dU-alci-sis separation by passage through a membrane
per- through percutaneous p_r-kyu-tQcnT-\s through the skin
trans- through transfusion trans-fyuczh\n introduction of blood into the bloodstream

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 Prefixes of Time, Position or Location
Prefix Meaning Example Pronunciation* Meaning of Example
acro- top, extremity, height acrophobia ak-rb-fbcbT-^ morbid fear of heights
ad- near to, near, toward adrenal ^-drTcn^l near or upon the kidney
ambi- both, around, on all ambilateral am-bi-latcer-^l relating to both sides
sides
amphi- on both sides, both amphicentric am-fi-senctrik beginning and ending in the same vessel
about
ante- before antemortem ancte-mbr-tem before death
antero- in front, the front anteroinferior ancter-b-in-fTrcT-er In front and below
crypt- hidden cryptogenic krip-tb-jencik of obscure, indeterminate etiology or origin
dextro- right dextropedal deks-tropc_-d^l prefers using the right leg to using the left leg
dia- across, through, diarrhea dU-^-rTc^ rapid movement of fecal matters through the intestines
between, completely
ec-, ecto- on the outside, ectoderm ekctb-derm outer layer of cells in the embryo
external
endo- inner, inside, within, endocarditis encdb-kar-dUctis inflammation of the innermost part of the heart
inward
epi- upon, among epibulbar ep-i-b\lcbar upon a bulb of any kind; upon the eyeball
eso- within, inward esophoria es-b-fbcrT-^ tendency for the eyes to turn inward
ex(o)- outside, out, away, exophoria eksco-fbcrT-^ tendency of the eyes to deviate outward
extra- outside of extracellular eks-tr^-selcyu-ler outside the cells
hemi- half; one side hemisphere hemci-sfTr half of a round structure
infra- below, beneath infrasonic incfr^-soncik denoting frequencies that lie below the human hearing range
inter- between interdental in-ter-denct^l between teeth
intra- within intrapartum inctr^-parct\m during labor and delivery or childbirth
ipsi- same, self ipsilateral ip-si-latcer-^l on the same side
latero- to the side of lateroflexion latcer-b-flekcsh\n a bending or curvature to one side
levo- left levorotation lT-vb-rb-tQcsh\n turning or twisting to the left
medi(o)- middle mediolateral mTcdT-b-latcer-^l relating to the median plane and a side
meso- Middle, intermediate mesoderm mezcb-derm the middle of the three primary germ layers of the embryo (the
others being ectoderm and endoderm)
opisth(o)- backward, behind, opisthotonos op-is-thotcb-n\s Form of spasm in which the head and heels are bent backward
located behind and the body is bowed forward

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ortho- straight orthostatic br-thb-statcik relating to an erect posture or position
para- beside, near, beyond, paramedical par-^-medci-k^l related to the medical profession in an adjunctive capacity
apart from
peri- around perinatal per-i-nQct^l around the periods before, during, or after the time of birth
post- after postnatal pbst-nQct^l after birth
postero- behind, the back of posterosuperior poscter-b-soo-pTcrT- situated behind and at the upper part
[r
pre- before prenatal prT-nQct^l before birth
retro- behind, located behind retrojection re-trb-jekcsh\n washing out of a cavity by the backward flow of an injected
fluid
sinistro- left, toward the left sinistropedal sin-is-tropc_-d^l one who prefers to use the left leg
sub- under subacute s\b-^-kyutc of the severity of a disease, between acute and chronic
super-, above, over superacute soocper-^-kyutc of the severity of a disease, extremely acute
supra-
tele- far away, distance, at telepathy t_-lepc^-thT ransmittal and reception of thoughts by means other than
a distance through the normal senses, as a form of extrasensory perception
trans- across, through, transplant tranzcplant o transfer from one part to another, as in grafting and
beyond transplantation
vari- different variable varcT-^-bl that which is able to change
Miscellaneous Prefixes
Prefix Meaning Example Pronunciation* Brief Explanation
aero- air, gas aerogenic Qr-b-jencik gas-forming
andro- masculine androphobia an-drb-fbcbT-^ morbid fear of men, or of the male sex
auto- self, same autograft awctb-graft a tissue or an organ transferred by grafting into a new position
in the body of the same individual
bio- life biocidal bU-b-sUcd^l destructive of life; particularly pertaining to microorganisms
dys- bad, difficult dyslexia dis-lekcsT-^ impaired reading ability
glyco-, sugars or glycine glycopenia glU-kb-pTcnT-^ a deficiency of any or all sugars in an organ or tissue
gluc(o)-
gyn(o)-, female gynecology gU-n_-kolcb-jT study of diseases unique to women
gyne-,
gyneco-
* Pronunciation quoted from: Dirckx, John H., editor, Stedman's Concise Medical Dictionary for the Health Professions, Baltimore, MD: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 4th Edition, 2001

In case of the slightest doubt, consult a medical and health care dictionary!
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