3 Prefix

are located at the beginning of a medical term. The prefix alters the meaning of the medical term. It is important to spell and pronounce prefixes correctly.

Many prefixes that you find in medical terms are common to English language prefixes. A good technique to help with memorization is the following:

  • Start by reviewing the most common prefixes.
  • Consider common English language words that begin with the same prefixes.
  • Compare them to the examples of use in medical terms.
PREFIX MEANING EXAMPLE OF USE IN MEDICAL TERMS
a-, an No, not, without, negates the meaning ,
ab- away from; from
ad- toward, at, increase, on, toward
ante- before
anti- against, opposing
PREFIX MEANING EXAMPLE OF USE IN MEDICAL TERMS
bi-,bin- two, twice, double ,
brady- slow
PREFIX MEANING EXAMPLE OF USE IN MEDICAL TERMS
de- from, down, away from
dia- through, complete
dys- painful, abnormal, difficult, laboured
PREFIX MEANING EXAMPLE OF USE IN MEDICAL TERMS
endo- within, in
epi- on, upon, over
eu- normal, good
PREFIX MEANING EXAMPLE OF USE IN MEDICAL TERMS
hemi- half
hyper- above, excessive
hypo- below, incomplete, deficient, under
PREFIX MEANING EXAMPLE OF USE IN MEDICAL TERMS
inter- between
intra- within, in
PREFIX MEANING EXAMPLE OF USE IN MEDICAL TERMS
macro- large, long
meta- after, beyond, change
micro- small
multi- many
PREFIX MEANING EXAMPLE OF USE IN MEDICAL TERMS
neo- new
nulli- none
PREFIX MEANING EXAMPLE OF USE IN MEDICAL TERMS
pachy- thick, thickening, thickened
pan- all, total
para- beside, beyond, around, abnormal
per- through
peri- surrounding (outer)
poly- many, much
post- after
pre- before
pro- before
PREFIX MEANING EXAMPLE OF USE IN MEDICAL TERMS
sub- below, under
supra- above
sym-, syn- together, joined
PREFIX MEANING EXAMPLE OF USE IN MEDICAL TERMS
tachy- fast, rapid
trans- through, across, beyond
tri- three
PREFIX MEANING EXAMPLE OF USE IN MEDICAL TERMS
uni- one

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Building a Medical Terminology Foundation Copyright © 2020 by Kimberlee Carter and Marie Rutherford is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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