Medical Terminology Essentials: 300 Terms and Word Parts
Decode clinical vocabulary through 300 essential terms and word parts.
300 cards
Sign up free and add it
The deck is added automatically once you finish signing up.
Nothing here is generated by AI, so the free plan is enough to add it.
See 30 sample cards
Showing a 30-card sample of 300.
| Front | Back |
|---|---|
| brady- | Prefix meaning slow. Breaks down as brady- = slow. Example: bradycardia means a slow heart rate. |
| tachy- | Prefix meaning fast or rapid. Breaks down as tachy- = rapid. Example: tachypnea means rapid breathing. |
| inter- | Prefix meaning between or among. Breaks down as inter- = between. Example: intercostal means between the ribs. |
| sub- | Prefix meaning under or below. Breaks down as sub- = below. Example: subcutaneous means beneath the skin. |
| micro- | Prefix meaning small. Breaks down as micro- = small. Example: microcyte means a small red blood cell. |
| dys- | Prefix meaning bad, difficult, or painful. Breaks down as dys- = difficult or abnormal. Example: dysphagia means difficult swallowing. |
| -tomy | Suffix meaning cut into or incision. Breakdown: -tomy = incision. Example: tracheotomy is an incision into the trachea. |
| -rrhagia | Suffix meaning excessive flow or bursting forth. Breaks down as -rrhagia = excessive bleeding or discharge. Example: menorrhagia means heavy menstrual bleeding. |
| -malacia | Suffix meaning abnormal softening. Breaks down as -malacia = softening. Example: osteomalacia means softening of bone. |
| ot/o | Combining form meaning ear. Breaks down as ot/o = ear. Example: otitis means inflammation of the ear. |
| -a | Plural ending in some Greek- or Latin-derived medical nouns, especially singular forms ending in -um or -on: bacterium → bacteria; ganglion → ganglia. Do not assume every word ending in -a is plural. |
| lateral | Directional term meaning away from the midline. Contrast: lateral is opposite medial. Example: the arms are lateral to the chest. |
| -cardia | Heart rate or heart condition. Example: tachycardia means fast heart rate, while bradycardia means slow heart rate. |
| an/o | Anus. Breakdown: an- = anus; -o- = combining vowel. Example: anal fissure means a tear near the anus. |
| -uria | Urine condition or urine presence. Example: hematuria means blood in the urine; dysuria means painful or difficult urination. |
| hyster/o | Uterus. Breakdown: hyster- = uterus; -o- = combining vowel. Example: hysterectomy is surgical removal of the uterus. |
| endocrin/o | Endocrine glands; internal secretion. Example: endocrinology is the study of hormone-producing glands and their secretions. |
| myel/o | Combining form meaning spinal cord or bone marrow, depending on context. In nervous-system terms it usually refers to the spinal cord. Example: myelopathy is disease of the spinal cord. |
| trich/o | Combining form meaning hair. It appears in hair-related disorders and procedures. Example: trichology is the study of hair and scalp conditions. |
| acous/o | Combining form meaning hearing or sound. It appears in terms about sound perception and hearing loss. Example: acoustic relates to sound. |
| -oma | Suffix meaning tumor or mass. It can be benign or malignant depending on context, so the word part alone does not tell severity. Example: lipoma is a fatty mass. |
| interstitial | Pertaining to the spaces within a tissue or between tissue elements. Example: interstitial fluid occupies the spaces between cells. |
| glaucoma | A group of eye disorders that can damage the optic nerve, often linked to pressure changes. It is distinct from lens clouding. Example: glaucoma affects peripheral vision first in many cases. |
| -ion | A noun-forming suffix meaning process or condition. Breakdown: no further parts; often turns an action into a state. Example: abrasion is a rubbing-away injury, not a surgical procedure. |
| -phoresis | A suffix meaning carrying or transmission. Breakdown: no further parts; often refers to movement or transfer. Example: electrophoresis uses electricity to move molecules, unlike passive diffusion. |
| acro- | A prefix meaning extremity or topmost part. Breakdown: acro- = extremity. Example: acromegaly involves enlarged extremities, not the trunk. |
| em- | A prefix meaning in or within; a variant of en- used before certain consonants. Example: emphysema contains em- as a form of en-, though many medical words beginning with em- are not cleanly divisible for teaching purposes. |
| ortho- | A prefix meaning straight, correct, or normal. Breakdown: ortho- = straight/correct. Example: orthodontics focuses on correcting tooth alignment. |
| ex- | A prefix meaning out of or away from. Breakdown: ex- = out. Example: excision means cutting out or removing tissue. |
| dyspnea | Difficult or labored breathing. Breakdown: dys- = difficult, -pnea = breathing. Example: dyspnea means shortness of breath, unlike a cough. |
About this deck
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.
Frequently asked
- Does importing this deck use AI credits?
- No. Importing uses the saved deck as published; it does not run AI generation or use AI credits. 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 this deck replace a textbook, instructor, or clinical guidance?
- No. It is a retrieval-practice supplement, not medical advice or a substitute for an accredited course, current institutional policy, clinical supervision, or patient-specific judgment. Verify clinical decisions against current authoritative guidance.
- 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.
- Has this deck been reviewed by a licensed medical professional?
- No. It received an editorial source check, not licensed-professional review. Use it as a terminology supplement and verify clinical language against current authoritative references and instruction.
Editorially checked against NLM and NCI references on 2026-08-16. Examples are written by Memly and avoid patient-specific instructions. Not reviewed by a licensed medical professional, not medical advice, and not a substitute for an accredited course or current clinical guidance; terminology and local usage change.