Essential Medical Terminology for Nursing Practice
This resource provides a compilation of fundamental medical prefixes, suffixes,
and terms commonly encountered in nursing practice. Understanding this
terminology is crucial for accurate communication, documentation, and
comprehension of patient care.
I. Common Prefixes:
Prefix Meaning Example
aden- gland adenoma
angio- blood vessel angiogram
arterio- artery arteriosclerosis
arthro- joint arthroscopy
carcin- cancer carcinoma
an- without anemia
a-/ab- away from abduction
ad- toward adduction
ante- before antepartum
anti- against antibiotic
aut- self autograft
brady- slow bradycardia
circum- around, round circumcision
contra- against contraindicated
cephal- head cephalic
This resource provides a compilation of fundamental medical prefixes, suffixes,
and terms commonly encountered in nursing practice. Understanding this
terminology is crucial for accurate communication, documentation, and
comprehension of patient care.
I. Common Prefixes:
Prefix Meaning Example
aden- gland adenoma
angio- blood vessel angiogram
arterio- artery arteriosclerosis
arthro- joint arthroscopy
carcin- cancer carcinoma
an- without anemia
a-/ab- away from abduction
ad- toward adduction
ante- before antepartum
anti- against antibiotic
aut- self autograft
brady- slow bradycardia
circum- around, round circumcision
contra- against contraindicated
cephal- head cephalic
