Commonly Used Prefixes In Medical Terminology

Front 1

1. a-

Back 1

1. without/not
(ex. apnea: absence of breathing)

Front 2

2. ab-

Back 2

2. away from
(ex. abduction [of arm]: moving arm away from the centre of the body)

Front 3

3. ad-

Back 3

3. toward
(ex. aduction [of arm]: bringing arm toward the centre of the body)

Front 4

4. ante-

Back 4

4. before
(ex. antenatal: before birth)

Front 5

5. anti-

Back 5

5. against
(ex. antihistamine: against [opposes] histamine)

Front 6

6. auto-

Back 6

6. self
(ex. autograft: grafting tissue from one part of the body to another)

Front 7

7. brady-

Back 7

7. slow
(ex. bradycardia: slow heart rate)

Front 8

8. contra-

Back 8

8. against
(ex. contraceptive: against contraception)

Front 9

9. dorsi-

Back 9

9. back
(ex. dorsiflexion: flexing a joint backwards)

Front 10

10. dys-

Back 10

10. faulty/difficult
(ex. dyspnea: difficulty in breathing)

Front 11

11. ecto-

Back 11

11. outside
(ex. ectopic pregnancy: embryo growing outside the uterus)

Front 12

12. endo-

Back 12

12. inside
(ex. endocardium: inner lining of the heart)

Front 13

13. exo-

Back 13

13. outside
(ex. exocrine gland: gland that secretes onto an outside surface)

Front 14

14. eu-

Back 14

14. normal
(ex. eupnea: normal breathing)

Front 15

15. hemi-

Back 15

15. half
(ex. hemiplegia: paralysis of half the body)

Front 16

16. hyper-

Back 16

16. above/excessive
(ex. hypertension: abnormally high blood pressure)

Front 17

17. hypo-

Back 17

17. below/deficient
(ex. hypothermia: below normal body temperature)

Front 18

18. infra-

Back 18

18. below/beneath
(ex. inframandibular: below the jaw)

Front 19

19. inter-

Back 19

19. between
(ex. intercellular: between the cells)

Front 20

20. intra-

Back 20

20. inside
(ex. intravenous: inside the veins)

Front 21

21. macro-

Back 21

21. large
(ex. macrocyte: an enlarged erythrocyte)

Front 22

22. mal-

Back 22

22. bad
(ex. malabsorption: faulty absorption)

Front 23

23. micro-

Back 23

23. small
(ex. microcytic: small blood cell)

Front 24

24. neo-

Back 24

24. new
(ex. neoplasm: new tumor growth)

Front 25

25. noct-

Back 25

25. night
(ex. nocturia: urination during the night)

Front 26

26. para-

Back 26

26. beside, near, resembling
(ex. paraplegia: paralysis of the lower half of the body)

Front 27

27. peri-

Back 27

27. around
(ex. pericardium: around [outer layer of] the heart)

Front 28

28. pneum-

Back 28

28. breathing
(ex. pneumonia: condition of abnormal breathing due to infection of the lungs)

Front 29

29. poly-

Back 29

29. many
(ex. polyuria: excessive urine)

Front 30

30. post-

Back 30

30. after
(ex. postoperative: after surgery)

Front 31

31. pre-

Back 31

31. before
(ex. preganglionic: before a ganglion)

Front 32

32. pro-

Back 32

32. in front of, before
(ex. prodromal: beginning, initial stages)

Front 33

33. retro-

Back 33

33. behind
(ex. retroperitoneal: behind the peritoneum)

Front 34

34. sub-

Back 34

34. below
(ex. subchondral: below the cartilage)

Front 35

35. super-

Back 35

35. above/excess
(ex. supersensitive: extra sensitivity)

Front 36

36. supra-

Back 36

36. above
(ex. suprapubic: above the pubic region)

Front 37

37. tachy-

Back 37

37. fast
(ex. tachycardia: fast heart rate)

Front 38

38. trans-

Back 38

38. across/through
(ex. transmembrane: across a membrane)