Med Term Chapter 6

Front 1

Bacteria (bak-TĒ-rē-a)

Back 1

simple microscopic organisms that are widespread throughout the world, some can produce disease; singular: bacterium (bak-TĒ-rē-um)

Front 2

Cocci (KOK-sī)

Back 2

round bacteria; may be in clusters (staphylococci), chains (streptococci), and other formations; singular, coccus (KOK-us) - pneumonia, rheumatic fever, food poisoning, septicemia, urinary tract infections, gonorrhea

Front 3

Bacilli (ba-SIL-ī)

Back 3

rod-shaped bacteria; singular, bacillus (ba-SIL-us) - typhoid, dysentery, salmonellosis, tuberculosis, botulism, tetanus

Front 4

Vibrios (VIB-rē-ōz)

Back 4

short curved rods - cholera, gastroenteritis

Front 5

Spirochetes (SPĪ-rō-kētz)

Back 5

corkscrew-shaped bacteria that move with a twisting motion - Lyme disease, syphilis, Vincent disease

Front 6

Chlamydia (kla-MID-ē-a)

Back 6

extremely small bacteria with complex life cycles that grow in living cells, but unlike viruses, are susceptible to antibiotics - conjunctivitis, trachoma, pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs)

Front 7

Rickettsia (ri-KET-sē-a)

Back 7

extremely small bacteria that grow in living cells but are susceptible to antibiotics - typhus, Rocky Mountain spotted fever

Front 8

Viruses (VĪ-rus-es)

Back 8

submicroscopic infectious agents that can live and reproduce only within living cells - colds, herpes, hepatitis, measles, varicella (chickenpox), influenza, AIDS

Front 9

Fungi (FUN-jī)

Back 9

simple, nongreen plants, some of which are parasitic; includes yeasts and molds; singular, fungus (FUN-gus) - candidiasis, skin infections (tinea, ringworm), valley fever

Front 10

Protozoa (prō-tō-ZŌ-a)

Back 10

single-celled animals; singular, protozoon (prō-tō-ZŌ-on) - dysentery, Trichomonas infection, malaria

Front 11

Helminthes (HEL-minths)

Back 11

worms - trichinosis; infestations with roundworms, pinworms, hookworms

Front 12

Acute (a-KŪT)

Back 12

Sudden, severe; having a short course

Front 13

Benign (bē-NĪN)

Back 13

Not recurrent or malignant, favorable for recovery, describing a tumor that does not spread (metastasize) to other tissues

Front 14

Carcinoma (kar-si-NŌ-ma)

Back 14

A malignant neoplasm composed of epithelial cells (from Greek root carcino, meaning “crab”) (adjective: carcinomatous)

Front 15

Chronic (KRON-ik)

Back 15

Of long duration, progressing slowly

Front 16

Cyst (sist)

Back 16

An abnormal filled sac or pouch. Used as a root meaning a normal bladder or sac, such as the urinary bladder or gallbladder (root: cyst/o)

Front 17

Edema (e-DĒ-ma)

Back 17

Accumulation of fluid in the tissues, swelling; adjective: edematous (e-DĒ-ma-tus)

Front 18

Etiology (ē-tē-OL-ō-jē)

Back 18

The cause of a disease

Front 19

Gram stain

Back 19

A laboratory staining procedure that divides bacteria into two groups: gram-positive, which stain purple, and gram-negative, which stain red

Front 20

Hernia (HER-nē-a)

Back 20

Protrusion of an organ through an abnormal opening, a rupture

Front 21

Inflammation (in-fla-MĀ-shun)

Back 21

A localized response to tissue injury characterized by heat, pain, redness, and swelling

Front 22

Lesion (LĒ-zhun)

Back 22

A distinct area of damaged tissue, an injury or wound

Front 23

Malignant (ma-LIG-nant)

Back 23

Growing worse, harmful, tending to cause death, describing an invasive tumor that can spread (metastasize) to other tissues

Front 24

Metastasis (me-TAS-ta-sis)

Back 24

Spread from one part of the body to another, characteristic of cancer. Verb is metastasize (me-TAS-ta-sīz), adjective: metastatic (met-a-STAT-ik)

Front 25

Microorganism (mī-krō-OR-gan-izm)

Back 25

An organism too small to be seen without the aid of a microscope

Front 26

Necrosis (ne-KRŌ-sis)

Back 26

Death of tissue (root necr/o means “death”); adjective: necrotic (ne-KROT-ik)

Front 27

Neoplasm (NĒ-ō-plazm)

Back 27

An abnormal and uncontrolled growth of tissue, namely, a tumor; may be benign or malignant. From prefix neo- meaning “new” and root plasm meaning “formation.” The root onc/o and the suffix -oma refer to neoplasms

Front 28

Parasite (PAR-a-sī)t

Back 28

An organism that grows on or in another organism (the host), causing damage to it

Front 29

Pathogen (PATH-ō-jen)

Back 29

An organism capable of causing disease (root path/o means “disease”)

Front 30

Phagocytosis (fag-ō-sī-TŌ-sis)

Back 30

The ingestion of organisms, such as invading bacteria or small particles of waste material by a cell (root phag/o means “to eat”). The phagocytic cell, or phagocyte, then destroys the ingested material

Front 31

Prolapse (PRŌ-laps)

Back 31

A dropping or downward displacement of an organ or part, ptosis

Front 32

pus

Back 32

A product of inflammation consisting of fluid and white blood cells (root: py/o)

Front 33

sarcoma (sar-KŌ-ma)

Back 33

A malignant neoplasm arising from connective tissue (from Greek root sarco, meaning “flesh”); adjective: sarcomatous

Front 34

sepsis (SEP-sis)

Back 34

The presence of harmful microorganisms or their toxins in the blood or other tissues; adjective: septic

Front 35

toxin (TOKS-in)

Back 35

A poison; adjective: toxic (roots: tox/o, toxic/o)

Front 36

trauma (TRAW-ma)

Back 36

A physical or psychological wound or injury

Front 37

alg/o, algi/o, algesi/o

Back 37

pain – algesia (al-JE--ze—a) - condition of having pain

Front 38

carcin/o

Back 38

cancer, carcinoma – carcinoid (KAR-si-noyd) - resembling a carcinoma

Front 39

cyst/o

Back 39

filled sac or pouch, cyst, bladder – cystic (SIS-tik) - pertaining to or having cysts

Front 40

lith

Back 40

calculus, stone – lithiasis (lith-I--a-sis) - stone formation

Front 41

onc/o

Back 41

tumor – oncogenic (on-ko--JEN-ik) - causing a tumor

Front 42

path/o

Back 42

disease – pathogen (PATH-o—jen) - organism that produces disease

Front 43

py/o

Back 43

pus – pyocyst (PI--o—sist) - cyst filled with pus

Front 44

pyr/o, pyret/o

Back 44

fever, fire – pyrexia (pī-REK-se—a) - fever

Front 45

scler/o

Back 45

hard – sclerosis (skle-RO—sis) - hardening of tissue

Front 46

tox/o, toxic/o

Back 46

poison – endotoxin (en-do--TOK-sin) - toxin within bacterial cells

Front 47

brady-

Back 47

slow – bradypnea (brad-ip-NE—a) - slow breathing (-pnea) rate

Front 48

dys-

Back 48

abnormal, painful, difficult – dysplasia (dis-PLA--je—a) - abnormal development (plas) of tissue

Front 49

mal-

Back 49

bad, poor – malabsorption (mal-ab-SO-RP-shun) - poor absorption of nutrients

Front 50

pachy-

Back 50

thick – pachycephaly (pak-i-SEF-a-leabnormal) - thickness of the skull

Front 51

tachy-

Back 51

rapid – tachycardia (tak-i-KAR-de—a) - rapid heart (cardi/o) rate

Front 52

xero-

Back 52

dry – xeroderma (ze--ro--DER-ma) - dryness of the skin

Front 53

-algia, -algesia

Back 53

pain – neuralgia (nu--RAL-je—a) - pain in a nerve (neur/o)

Front 54

-cele

Back 54

hernia, localized dilation – gastrocele (GAS-tro--se-l) - hernia of the stomach (gastr/o)

Front 55

-clasis, -clasia

Back 55

breaking – karyoclasis (kar-e--OK-la-sis) - breaking of a nucleus (kary/o)

Front 56

-itis

Back 56

inflammation – cystitis (sis-TI—tis) - inflammation of the urinary bladder (cyst/o)

Front 57

-megaly

Back 57

enlargement – hepatomegaly (hep-a-to--MEG-a-leenlargement) - of the liver (hepat/o)

Front 58

-odynia

Back 58

pain – urodynia (u --ro--DIN-e—a) - pain on urination (ur/o)

Front 59

-oma*

Back 59

tumor – lipoma (lI--PO—ma) - tumor of fat cells

Front 60

-pathy

Back 60

any disease of – nephropathy (nef-ROP-a-theany) - disease of the kidney (nephr/o)

Front 61

-rhage†, -rhagia†

Back 61

bursting forth, profuse flow, hemorrhage – hemorrhage (HEM-or-ij) - profuse flow of blood

Front 62

-rhea†

Back 62

flow, discharge – pyorrhea (pI--o--RE—a) - discharge of pus

Front 63

-rhexis†

Back 63

rupture – amniorrhexis (am-ne--o--REK-sis) - rupture of the amniotic sac (bag of waters)

Front 64

-schisis

Back 64

fissure, splitting – retinoschisis (ret-i-NOS-ki-sis) - splitting of the retina of the eye

Front 65

dilation*, dilatation*

Back 65

expansion, widening – vasodilation (vas-o--dI--LA—shun) - widening of blood vessels (vas/o)

Front 66

ectasia, ectasis

Back 66

dilation, dilatation, distension – gastrectasia (gas-trek-TA--se—a) - dilatation of the stomach (gastr/o)

Front 67

edema

Back 67

accumulation of fluid, swelling – cephaledema (sef-al-e-DE—ma) - swelling of the head

Front 68

lysis*

Back 68

separation, loosening, dissolving, destruction – dialysis (dI--AL-i-sis) - separation of substances by passage through (dia-) a membrane

Front 69

malacia

Back 69

softening – craniomalacia (kra--ne--o--ma-LA--she—a) - softening of the skull (crani/o)

Front 70

necrosis

Back 70

death of tissue - osteonecrosis (os-te--o--ne-KRO—sis) - death of bone (oste/o) tissue

Front 71

ptosis

Back 71

dropping, downward displacement, prolapse – blepharoptosis (blef-e-rop-TO—sis) - dropping or drooping of the eyelid (blephar/o)

Front 72

sclerosis

Back 72

hardening – phlebosclerosis (fl eb-o--skle-RO—sis) - hardening of veins (phleb/o)

Front 73

spasm

Back 73

sudden contraction, cramp – arteriospasm (ar-TE-R-e--o—spazm) - spasm of an artery

Front 74

stasis*

Back 74

suppression, stoppage – menostasis (men-OS-ta-sis) - suppression of menstrual (men/o) flow

Front 75

stenosis

Back 75

narrowing, constriction – bronchostenosis (brong-ko--ste-NO—sis) - narrowing of a bronchus (air passageway)

Front 76

toxin

Back 76

poison – nephrotoxin (nef-ro--TOK-sin) - substance poisonous or harmful for the kidneys

Front 77

staphyl/o

Back 77

grape-like cluster – staphylococcus (staf-i-lo--KOK-us) - a round bacterium that forms clusters

Front 78

strept/o

Back 78

twisted chain – streptobacillus (strep-to--ba-SIL-us) - a rod-shaped bacterium that forms chains

Front 79

bacill/i, bacill/o

Back 79

bacillus – bacilluria (bas-i-LU- -re—a) - bacilli in the urine (-uria)

Front 80

bacteri/o

Back 80

bacterium – bacteriostatic (bak-te-r-e--o--STAT-ik) - stopping (stasis) the growth of bacteria

Front 81

myc/o

Back 81

fungus, mold – mycotic (mI--KOT-ik) - pertaining to a fungus

Front 82

vir/o

Back 82

virus – viremia (vI--RE--me—a) - presence of viruses in the blood (-emia)

Front 83

acid-fast stain

Back 83

A laboratory staining procedure used mainly to identify the tuberculosis (TB) organism

Front 84

communicable (ko-MŪN-i-ka-bl)

Back 84

Capable of passing from one person to another, such as an infectious disease

Front 85

endemic (en-DEM-ik)

Back 85

Occurring at a low level but continuously in a given region, such as the common cold (from en-, meaning “in” and Greek demos, meaning “people”)

Front 86

epidemic (ep-i-DEM-ik)

Back 86

Affecting many people in a given region at the same time, a disease that breaks out in a large proportion of a population at a given time

Front 87

exacerbation (eks-zas-er-BĀ-shun)

Back 87

Worsening of disease, increase in severity of a disease or its symptoms

Front 88

iatrogenic (i-at-rō-JEN-ik)

Back 88

Caused by the effects of treatment (from Greek root iatro-, meaning “physician”)

Front 89

idiopathic (id-ē-ō-PATH-ik)

Back 89

Having no known cause (root idio means “self-originating”)

Front 90

in situ (in SĪ-tū)

Back 90

Localized, noninvasive (literally “in position”); said of tumors that do not spread, such as carcinoma in situ (CIS)

Front 91

normal flora (FLŌ-ra)

Back 91

The microorganisms that normally live on or in the body. These organisms are generally harmless and are often beneficial, but they can cause disease under special circumstances, such as injury or failure of the immune system

Front 92

nosocomial (nos-ō-KŌ-mē-al)

Back 92

Describing an infection acquired in a hospital (root nos/o means “disease,” and comial refers to a hospital). Such infections can be a serious problem, especially if they are resistant to antibiotics; for example, there are now strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant S. aureus (VRSA), which cause dangerous infections in hospital settings

Front 93

opportunistic (op-por-tū-NI)S-tik

Back 93

Describing an infection that occurs because of a host’s poor or altered condition

Front 94

pandemic (pan-DEM-ik)

Back 94

Describing a disease that is prevalent throughout an entire region or the world. AIDS is now pandemic in certain regions of the world

Front 95

remission (rē-MISH-un)

Back 95

A lessening of disease symptoms, the period during which such lessening occurs

Front 96

septicemia (sep-ti-SĒ-mē-a)

Back 96

Presence of pathogenic bacteria in the blood, blood poisoning

Front 97

systemic (sis-TEM-ik)

Back 97

Pertaining to the whole body

Front 98

abscess (AB-ses)

Back 98

A localized collection of pus

Front 99

adhesion (ad-HĒ-zhun)

Back 99

A uniting of two surfaces or parts that may normally be separated

Front 100

anaplasia (a-na-PLĀ-jē-a)

Back 100

Lack of normal differentiation, as shown by cancer cells

Front 101

ascites (a-SĪ-tēz)

Back 101

Accumulation of fluid in the peritoneal cavity

Front 102

cellulitis (sel-ū-LĪ-tis)

Back 102

A spreading inflammation of tissue

Front 103

effusion (e-FŪ-zhun)

Back 103

Escape of fluid into a cavity or other body part

Front 104

exudate (EKS-ū-dāt)

Back 104

Material that escapes from blood vessels as a result of tissue injury

Front 105

fissure (FISH-ur)

Back 105

A groove or split

Front 106

fistula (FIS-tū-la)

Back 106

An abnormal passage between two organs or from an organ to the surface of the body

Front 107

gangrene (GANG-grēn)

Back 107

Death of tissue, usually caused by lack of blood supply; may be associated with bacterial infection and decomposition

Front 108

hyperplasia (hī-per-PLĀ-jē-a)

Back 108

Excessive growth of normal cells in normal arrangement

Front 109

hypertrophy (hī-PER-trō-fē)

Back 109

An increase in the size of an organ without increase in the number of cells; may result from an increase in activity, as in muscles

Front 110

induration (in-dū-RĀ-shun)

Back 110

Hardening, an abnormally hard spot or place

Front 111

metaplasia (met-a-PLĀ-jē-a)

Back 111

Conversion of cells to a form that is not normal for that tissue (prefix meta- means “change”)

Front 112

polyp (POL-ip)

Back 112

A tumor attached by a thin stalk

Front 113

purulent (PUR-ū-lent)

Back 113

Forming or containing pus

Front 114

suppuration (sup-ū-RĀ-shun)

Back 114

Pus formation

Front 115

AF

Back 115

Acid fast

Front 116

CA, Ca

Back 116

Cancer

Front 117

CIS

Back 117

Carcinoma in situ

Front 118

FUO

Back 118

Fever of unknown origin

Front 119

Gm+

Back 119

Gram-positive

Front 120

Gm–

Back 120

Gram-negative

Front 121

MRSA

Back 121

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Front 122

Staph

Back 122

Staphylococcus

Front 123

Strep

Back 123

Streptococcus

Front 124

VRSA

Back 124

Vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus