Medical Terminology Essentials: 300 Terms and Word Parts

Decode clinical vocabulary through 300 essential terms and word parts.

300 cardsLast updated 2026-08-16

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Medical terminology becomes manageable the moment you learn how the words are built. This 300-card foundation combines high-yield prefixes, suffixes and combining forms with the common directional, diagnostic, procedural and body-system terms built out of them. Each card explains the term in plain English and, where it helps, breaks it into components — so the pattern transfers to a term you have never seen instead of stopping at the ones you memorized. Import it and the whole deck joins your spaced-repetition schedule. Terms you already know stretch out and drop out of sight; the ones that keep slipping come back until they stop slipping. What goes down is the number of terms you still don't know — not the time it takes to flip past 300 cards you mostly do.

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What's inside

Showing 100 representative cards from the full 300-card deck.

Front	Back
a- — what is it?	Prefix meaning without or not. it is attached directly to the base, so atypical means not typical. Medical terms may use an- before a vowel sound, as in anuria.
brady- — what is it?	Prefix meaning slow. brady- = slow.
tachy- — what is it?	Prefix meaning fast or rapid. tachy- = rapid.
inter- — what is it?	Prefix meaning between or among. inter- = between.
sub- — what is it?	Prefix meaning under or below. sub- = below.
trans- — what is it?	Prefix meaning across, through, or beyond. trans- = across.
bi- — what is it?	Prefix meaning two or twice. bi- = two.
poly- — what is it?	Prefix meaning many or much. poly- = many.
micro- — what is it?	Prefix meaning small. micro- = small.
hemi- — what is it?	Prefix meaning half. hemi- = half.
dys- — what is it?	Prefix meaning bad, difficult, or painful. dys- = difficult or abnormal.
-emia — what is it?	Suffix meaning blood condition. -emia = blood condition.
-tomy — what is it?	Suffix meaning cut into or incision. -tomy = incision.
-plasty — what is it?	Suffix meaning surgical repair or reshaping. -plasty = repair.
-graph — what is it?	Suffix meaning instrument used to record or write. -graph = recorder.
-stomy — what is it?	Suffix meaning creating an opening. -stomy = opening.
-rrhagia — what is it?	Suffix meaning excessive flow or bursting forth. -rrhagia = excessive bleeding or discharge.
-meter — what is it?	Suffix meaning instrument for measuring. -meter = measuring device.
-logy — what is it?	Suffix meaning study of. -logy = study.
-malacia — what is it?	Suffix meaning abnormal softening. -malacia = softening.
cardi/o — what is it?	Combining form meaning heart. cardi/o = heart.
enter/o — what is it?	Combining form meaning intestine, usually the small intestine. enter/o = intestine.
neur/o — what is it?	Combining form meaning nerve. neur/o = nerve.
oste/o — what is it?	Combining form meaning bone. oste/o = bone.
dermat/o — what is it?	Combining form meaning skin. dermat/o = skin.
immun/o — what is it?	Combining form meaning immunity or immune protection. immun/o = immunity.
glyc/o — what is it?	Combining form meaning sugar or glucose. glyc/o = sugar.
ot/o — what is it?	Combining form meaning ear. ot/o = ear.
psych/o — what is it?	Combining form meaning mind. psych/o = mind.
erythr/o — what is it?	Combining form meaning red. erythr/o = red.
steat/o — what is it?	Combining form meaning fat or sebum. steat/o = fat.
-a — what is it?	Plural ending in some Greek- or Latin-derived medical nouns, especially singular forms ending in -um or -on. do not assume every word ending in -a is plural.
-us — what is it?	Latin singular ending often seen in anatomical terms. -us = singular form.
-is — what is it?	Greek/Latin singular ending in some medical terms. -is = singular form.
-on — what is it?	Greek singular ending seen in many medical terms. -on = singular form.
-ices — what is it?	Plural ending used for some words ending in -ix. -ices = plural form.
posterior — what is it?	Directional term meaning toward the back of the body. posterior is opposite anterior.
inferior — what is it?	Directional term meaning below or lower. inferior is opposite superior.
lateral — what is it?	Directional term meaning away from the midline. lateral is opposite medial.
distal — what is it?	Directional term meaning farther from the point of attachment or origin. distal is opposite proximal.
deep — what is it?	Directional term meaning farther from the surface. deep is opposite superficial.
contralateral — what is it?	Directional term meaning on the opposite side of the body. contra- = opposite, -lateral = side.
coron/o — what is it?	Combining form meaning crown or encircling. in medicine it appears in coronary terms because the coronary vessels encircle the heart.
arteri- — what is it?	Artery. used in terms like arterial and arteriogram. It points to vessels carrying blood away from the heart.
angi/o — what is it?	Vessel, usually a blood vessel. angi- = vessel; -o- = combining vowel.
hem/o — what is it?	Blood. hem- = blood; -o- = combining vowel.
-cardia — what is it?	Heart rate or heart condition.
bronch/o — what is it?	Bronchus, a main airway branch. bronch- = bronchus; -o- = combining vowel.
laryng/o — what is it?	Larynx, or voice box. laryng- = larynx; -o- = combining vowel.
alveol/o — what is it?	Alveolus, a tiny air sac in the lung. alveol- = air sac; -o- = combining vowel.
sinus/o — what is it?	Sinus, an air-filled cavity. in respiratory terms it often refers to the paranasal sinuses.
-oxia — what is it?	Oxygen level or oxygen condition.
an/o — what is it?	Anus. an- = anus; -o- = combining vowel.
proct/o — what is it?	Rectum and anus. proct- = anus/rectum; -o- = combining vowel.
ren/o — what is it?	Kidney. ren- = kidney; -o- = combining vowel.
ureter/o — what is it?	Ureter, the tube from kidney to bladder. ureter- = ureter; -o- = combining vowel.
-uria — what is it?	Urine condition or urine presence.
bucc/o — what is it?	Cheek.
duoden/o — what is it?	Duodenum, the first part of the small intestine. duoden- = duodenum; -o- = combining vowel.
mast/o — what is it?	Breast. mast- = breast; -o- = combining vowel.
hyster/o — what is it?	Uterus. hyster- = uterus; -o- = combining vowel.
oophor/o — what is it?	Ovary. oophor- = ovary; -o- = combining vowel.
cervic/o — what is it?	Neck or cervix. cervic- = neck/cervix; -o- = combining vowel.
ovul/o — what is it?	Egg cell or ovum. ovul- = egg; -o- = combining vowel.
endocrin/o — what is it?	Endocrine glands; internal secretion.
adren/o — what is it?	Adrenal gland. adren- = adrenal gland; -o- = combining vowel.
calci/o — what is it?	Calcium. calci- = calcium; -o- = combining vowel.
myel/o — what is it?	Combining form meaning spinal cord or bone marrow, depending on context. in nervous-system terms it usually refers to the spinal cord.
-paresis — what is it?	Suffix meaning partial paralysis or weakness. it signals reduced movement, not complete loss.
chondr/o — what is it?	Combining form meaning cartilage. it appears in terms about flexible connective tissue at joints and ribs.
-rrhaphy — what is it?	Suffix meaning surgical suturing or stitching together.
trich/o — what is it?	Combining form meaning hair. it appears in hair-related disorders and procedures.
-sepsis — what is it?	Suffix associated with infection or microbial contamination, as in antisepsis. sepsis is a life-threatening syndrome of organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated response to infection, not simply any infection.
retin/o — what is it?	Combining form meaning retina, the light-sensitive layer at the back of the eye.
-tropia — what is it?	Suffix meaning turning or eye deviation. it is used for misalignment of the eyes.
acous/o — what is it?	Combining form meaning hearing or sound. it appears in terms about sound perception and hearing loss.
-scope — what is it?	Suffix or word part meaning instrument for viewing. it names tools used to look inside the body or examine structures.
crani/o — what is it?	Combining form meaning skull. it is used in surgical and anatomical terms.
fasci/o — what is it?	Combining form meaning fascia, a fibrous connective tissue layer.
-oma — what is it?	Suffix meaning tumor or mass. it can be benign or malignant depending on context, so the word part alone does not tell severity.
mono- — what is it?	Prefix meaning one or single.
retro- — what is it?	Prefix meaning backward or behind.
extra- — what is it?	Prefix meaning outside or beyond.
interstitial — what is it?	Pertaining to the spaces within a tissue or between tissue elements.
erythema — what is it?	Redness of the skin or mucous membranes, usually from increased blood flow.
glaucoma — what is it?	A group of eye disorders that can damage the optic nerve, often linked to pressure changes. it is distinct from lens clouding.
-dipsia — what is it?	A suffix meaning thirst. no further parts; often appears in symptom terms.
-ion — what is it?	A noun-forming suffix meaning process or condition. no further parts; often turns an action into a state.
-genic — what is it?	Suffix meaning producing, produced by, or caused by.
-phoresis — what is it?	A suffix meaning carrying or transmission. no further parts; often refers to movement or transfer.
-therapy — what is it?	A suffix meaning treatment. no further parts; refers to care intended to improve a condition.
acro- — what is it?	A prefix meaning extremity or topmost part. acro- = extremity.
counter- — what is it?	A prefix meaning opposite, opposing, or in response to. counter- = against.
em- — what is it?	A prefix meaning in or within; a variant of en- used before certain consonants.
mega- — what is it?	A prefix meaning great or large. mega- = large.
ortho- — what is it?	A prefix meaning straight, correct, or normal. ortho- = straight/correct.
pre- — what is it?	A prefix meaning before. pre- = before.
ex- — what is it?	A prefix meaning out of or away from. ex- = out.
hematemesis — what is it?	Vomiting blood. hemat- = blood, -emesis = vomiting.
dyspnea — what is it?	Difficult or labored breathing. dys- = difficult, -pnea = breathing.

Frequently asked

Does importing this deck use my AI allowance?

No. Importing uses the saved deck as published; it does not run AI generation or use your AI allowance. The complete deck can therefore be imported on the free plan.

What happens if I import the deck twice?

Existing cards are skipped. A later import only adds genuinely new cards, so it does not create a second copy of the same material. Including re-imports after deletion, the same Memly curated deck can be imported up to three times per account over its lifetime.

Can I change or remove cards after importing?

Yes. Imported cards belong to your account. You can edit either side, delete cards, add notes, or move them to another deck.

Can I study the same deck on web and mobile?

Yes. The deck is added to your Memly account and stays available across the web app and the iOS and Android apps.

Can I drill just prefixes, or just suffixes?

Yes. Every card is tagged by element type — combining form, prefix, suffix, root, inflection and whole term — so you can filter to one type and work through it. Combining forms are the largest block at 115 cards, then suffixes at 74 and prefixes at 64.

Does the deck teach word-building rules as well as definitions?

Yes. Root, prefix, suffix and combining-form cards explain meaning and show how the element appears in an independently written clinical example.

Where should I start if the whole list looks like noise?

Start with the prefixes and suffixes. A few dozen of them recur across hundreds of terms, so they pay off across the rest of the deck faster than the whole-term cards do.

Editorial method and sources

Memly's editors use the primary sources below to check scope and terminology, then independently write and review the cards.

MedlinePlus: Understanding Medical Words