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100 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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adenocarcinoma
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Gr. aden = gland, and carcinoma (see below).
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adenoid
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Gr. aden = gland, and eidos = resemblance.
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adipose
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L. adiposus; from adeps = fat.
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adrenal
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L. ad = to, and renal from ren = kidney.
The adrenal gland lies above the kidney and is sometimes called the suprarenal. |
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adventitia
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L. adventitius = coming from abroad; from ad = to, and venire = to come.
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afferent
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L. ad (af-) = to, and ferre = to carry.
Used for a variety of structures carrying material or impulses to a center or to an organ. |
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ala
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L. ala = a wing.
It is believed that ala is an eroded form of axilla. |
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albicans
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L. albicare = to be white.
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alimentary
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L. alimentum = nourishment.
An adjective applied to the digestive system or alimentary canal. |
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allantois
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Gr. allas = a sausage, and eidos = resemblance.
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alveolus
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L. diminutive of alveus = any hollowed out structure.
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ameloblast
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OF. en = on, amel = enamel, and Gr.
blastos = germ. |
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ampulla
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L. ampulla = a jug.
Perhaps an onomatopoetic word whose sound suggests the object; in this case, fluid flowing from the jug. Applied in anatomy to a number or structures supposedly resembling a jug. |
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amygdala
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Gr. amygdale = an almond.
Applied to the tonsil, because of a similarity in shape. |
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anastomosis
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Gr. ana = up, and stoma = mouth; hence an opening up.
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anatomy
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Gr. ana = up or apart, tome = a cutting.
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anencephaly
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Gr. a(an-) = not, and enkephalon = brain.
One of the many congenital defects. |
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aneurysm
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Gr. aneurysma = a widening; from ana = across, and eurys = broad.
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angio-
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Gr. angeion = a vessel.
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annulus
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L. anus = ring, and -ulnus, a diminutive suffix.
Applied to many small, ring-shaped structures. |
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antero-
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L. anterior = in front of.
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antrum
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Gr. antron = a cave.
The antra are hollow caves in our skull. |
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anus
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L. anus = a ring.
The terminal orifice of the bowel with its “ringed” musculature. |
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aorta
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Gr., perhaps from aeirein = to lift up, or to be hung.
Hippocrates used it of a bronchus; Aristotle transferred use of the term to the artery from which the heart hangs. The word was taken over into Latin as aorte, and first appeared as aorta in English in 1594. || |
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apical
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L. apex = tip, top, or pointed end.
The genitive of apex is apicis, and this explains the adjective apical. |
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aponeurosis
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Gr. apo = from, and neuron = anything of a fibrous nature.
Previous to Aristotle the word neuron had this meaning, and in Athens a cobbler was a neurorrhaphos or one who sews with tendons. This offers a good idea of the state of anatomical knowledge at that period. Aristotle limited use of the term neuron to the nerves. |
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appendix
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L. appendere = to hang upon; from ad = to, and pendere = to hang.
Used since the early seventeenth century to mean a small process developed from the surface of an organ. |
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aqueduct
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L. aqua = water, and ductus = a canal.
In Latin the word was spelled aquaeductus, which explains why we spell it with an e. || |
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arachnoid
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Gr. arachne = spider, and eidos = resemblance.
From this root came a Latin term arachnoides = spider-like, and from this came the name arachnoid for the cobweb-like membrane covering the brain and spinal cord. |
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areola
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L. area = a courtyard or space, and diminutive suffix -ola.
A term used in several ways, but especially applied to the pigmented area around the nipple. |
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artery
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Gr. perhaps from aer = air, and terein = to keep.
This derivation suggests the ancient belief that the arteries were windpipes. Adopted into Latin as arteria with the same meaning until the time of Harvey. || |
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articulation
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L. articulus, diminutive or artus = joint, and -atio, a suffix originally denoting action.
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arytenoid
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Gr. arytaina = a pitcher, and eidos = resemblance.
The arytenoid cartilages were thought to resemble little pitchers. |
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ascites
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Gr. askos = a bag or bladder.
No better name could be given to the fluid-filled abdomen. Sometimes ascites is applied to the fluid itself. |
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astigmatism
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Gr. a = not, and stigma = a point.
Hence a failure of the light rays to focus. |
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astrocyte
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Gr. astron = a star, and kytos = a vessel or cell.
These cells are shaped like stars. |
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ataxia
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Gr. a = not, taxis = order, and -ia = condition.
Applied to a lack of muscular coordination. || |
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atelectasis
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Gr. ateles = imperfect, and ektasis = expansion.
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atheroma
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Gr. athere = porridge; an unexpected derivation, but a good descriptive term.
The combing form athero-, from the same stem, appears in the compound term atherosclerosis (skleros = hard). |
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atlas
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Gr. Atlas was the mythological Titan who supported the world on his shoulders. Vesalius, in the sixteenth century, gave this name to the first cervical vertebra, which supports the head.
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atresia
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Gr. a = not, tresis = a boring, and -ia = a condition.
Hence an abnormal closure of an opening. |
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atrium
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L. atrium = a hall, or an entrance, and therefore used for the upper chamber of the heart.
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atrophy
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Gr. a = without, and trophe = nourishment.
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atropine
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Gr. Atropos = one of the Fates, after whom the botanical genus Atropa is named, perhaps because the drug extracted from Atropa belladonna can quickly decide your fate.
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auditory
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L. audire = to hear.
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auricle
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L. auricula, diminutive of auris = ear.
Used in anatomy of any ear-shaped structure, but applied especially to the appendage of the upper chamber of each side of the heart, because they bear a rough resemblance to ears. |
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autonomic
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Gr. autos = self, and nomos = law.
Hence that part of the nervous system which is self-controlled or autonomous. |
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autopsy
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Gr. autos = self, and opsis = to look at.
In the third century B.C., the word autopsia denoted those observations on the patient made by the physician himself, in contrast to historia, supplied by the patient. |
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axial
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L. axis = axle or pivot
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axilla
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L. axilla = the armpit. ||
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axis
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L. axis = axle or pivot.
Used as a name of the second cervical vertebra. |
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azygos
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Gr. a = not, and zygos = a yoke.
Therefore, this applies to any unpaired or unyoked structure, such as the azygos vein or the azygos lobe of the lung. |
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basilar
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Mod. L. basilaris = basal; originally from Gr.
basis = a base. |
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bicuspid
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L. bi = two, and cuspis = point.
The term premolar is also used for these teeth. |
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bile
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L. bilis = bile.
Many medical terms come from this root, bilis, including bilirubin (ruber = red) and biliverdin (viridis = green). |
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biopsy
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Gr. bios = life, and opsis = vision.
Hence biopsy signifies an examination of tissue removed from the living body. |
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blastula
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Gr. blastos = germ or bud, and derma = skin.
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brachial
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L. brachium = an arm. ||
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bradycardia
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Gr. bradys = slow and kardia = heart.
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bregma
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Gr. bregma = front of the head.
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brevis
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L. brevis = short.
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bronchial
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Adjective from BRONCHUS.
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bronchus
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Gr. bronchos = windpipe; originally from Gr.
brechein = to moisten. Plato believed that swallowed liquids went down the trachea into the bronchi. |
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bruit
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Fr. bruit = sound or noise.
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buccal
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L. bucca = the cheek.
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buccinator
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L. buccinator = a trumpeter.
Hence the muscles of the cheek. |
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bulla
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L. bulla = a bubble.
The adjective is bullous; both are used of a lesion which resembles a bubble. |
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bursa
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ML. bursa = a purse, hence any closed sac.
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cadaver
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L. cadere = to fall dead.
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calcaneus
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L. calcaneus = relating to the heel.
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calyx
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Gr. kalyx = husk or cup.
A term applied especially to the recesses in the pelvis of the kidney. |
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canthus
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Gr. kanthos = corner of the eye.
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capillary
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L. capillaris = relating to the hair; hence any structure as fine as a hair.
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caput
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L. caput = head.
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caput medusae
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L. caput = head, and genitive of Medusa = one of the mythological Gorgons with hair of live snakes.
The term is applied to the dilated veins which appear on the abdomen, due to obstruction of the portal circulation. |
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carcinoma
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Gr. karkinos = a crab, and -oma = tumor or neoplasm.
Celsus used the word carcinoma for all malignant growths, but added the adjective kakoethes = malignant to designate some which required surgery. || |
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cardia
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Gr. kardia = heart.
Used to denote the end of the stomach lying nearest the heart. |
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carina
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L. carina = keel of a boat, hence used of several anatomical structures having a central ridge.
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carotid
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Gr. karoun = to put to sleep.
In early Greece, jokesters used to cause goats to fall down motionless by pressure on these arteries and to return to normal by release of pressure. This is because horses and goats depend entirely on the carotids for their cerebral blood supply, since the vertebral arteries are insufficient. (An ancient day “sleeper hold”.) |
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cartilage
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L. cartilago = gristle.
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cauda
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L. cauda = a tail.
Such as the cauda equina or “horse’s tail” of the spinal cord. |
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cava
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L. cavus = hollow, as in the word cave. ||
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cecum
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L. caecus = blind.
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celiac
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Gr. koilia = the belly.
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cell
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L. cella = a small chamber. ||
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cephalic
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Gr. kephale = head. ||
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cerebellum
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L. diminutive of cerebrum = brain.
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cerebrum
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L. cerebrum = brain.
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cervical
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Look at cervix.
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cervix
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L. cervix = neck.
Most often used of the neck of the uterus. |
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chiasm
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Gr. chiasma = two crossing lines.
Derived from the Greek letter chi which in Greek script was written . || |
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choana
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Gr. choane = a funnel.
Applied to the posterior naris. |
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cholangitis
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Gr. chole = bile, angeion = vessel, and -itis = inflammation.
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chondral
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Gr. chondros = cartilage.
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chorda
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L. chorda = a string or cord.
In Greek, the corresponding word chorde signifies the intestine. || |
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choroid
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Gr. chorion = skin, and eidos = resemblance.
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chyle
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Gr. chylos = juice.
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chyme
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Gr. chymos = juice.
Used by Plato, and taken into medical terminology a long time ago. It is now seldom employed alone, but the roots persists in such terms as parenchyma and mesenchyme. || |
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ciliary
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L. ciliaris = pertaining to eyelashes; from cilia = eyelashes.
Used of any hair-like structure. |
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circulation
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L. circulare = to make a circle.
The movement of the blood was known to follow a circular course. |
