Introduction
Welcome to Building a Medical Terminology Foundation 2e. Medical terminology is a language that is used in health care settings. Medical terms are built from Greek and Latin word parts and, in addition, include acronymns, eponyms, and modern-day language terms.
Learning a new language can be a daunting task. In this resource, we offer a method for breaking down medical words that takes that daunting task and makes it manageable. What is required from you is a commitment to memorizing the word parts, learning the rules, and identifying the rebels. Once you meet that commitment, we will show you how to apply the rules to the word parts you have memorized. As you memorize the language components of medical terminology, it is important to support that learning with the context of anatomy and physiology. Consider where in the body the medical term is referencing and then how it works within the body. This will build a medical terminology foundation that you can continue to grow in your future healthcare courses.
Additional Resources Accompanying this Edition
Building a Medical Terminology Foundation 2e – Student Companion Workbook
Building a Medical Terminology Foundation 2e – Anatomical Colouring Book
Please note: this OER provides examples of medical documentation to enhance your learning of medical terms. These reports are not intended to represent or demonstrate Association for Health Documentation Integrity (AHDI) formatting standards.
Our first edition of edition of Building a Medical Terminology Foundation laid the groundwork for this second edition. From the outset, this resource resonated with students and educators in healthcare programs, where possessing medical terminology knowledge is an essential skill. The feedback we received from the first edition influenced and inspired us and paved the way forward to the new edition. A special thank you to all who contributed their insights and comments. Now, as we turn the page to our new edition, we are excited to highlight what is new in this edition:
- Layout: chapters are divided into subchapters, making it easier for the reader to navigate and focus on a key segment of the chapter content.
- New chapters: Chapter 18 Oncology and Chapter 19 Mental Health expand our comprehensive coverage and knowledge areas.
- Updated interactive activities: interactive chapter dialogue cards are expanded to include more terminology and additional audio pronunciation recordings.
- Text versions of interactives: H5P activities now contain textual versions to support and enhance greater accessibility and offline user experience.
- Added: solutions for the H5P activities have been placed in the footnotes section and will appear at the bottom of the page in the webbook or at the end of the page/chapter for the PDF version.
- Updated content weblinks: chapter links are updated to ensure relevancy and current standards, where relevant and applicable.
- Updated colour theme of the textbook for a consistent look and feel.
- New supplementary resources:
- Building a Medical Terminology Foundation 2e – Student Companion Workbook accompanies each chapter of learning for enhanced learner reinforcement. Chapter worksheets and activities in Word files to practice medical terminology development are available within the workbook.
- Building a Medical Terminology Foundation 2 e – Anatomical Colouring Book – many diagrams and illustrations found in chapters throughout the main text are now available in colouring book format. Learners are directed to identify and colour anatomical structures for an enhanced learning experience.
Attribution
This page “Introduction” by Kimberlee Carter, Marie Rutherford, and Connie Stevens is licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Terms derived from the first letters of a phrase and are spoken as if they are a word on their own.
Terms that are named after a place or person.
Terms from the English language.
word parts that do not fit within the language rules
