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Medical Suffixes
A list of Greek and Latin suffix meanings
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Eugene M. McCarthy, Ph.D. |
Medical Suffixes is a section of Suffix Prefix Dictionary, the most comprehensive online dictionary of biological and medical suffixes and prefixes. The suffix lists accessed from the links below provide definitions, examples, and etymologies for a wide variety of suffixes used in biology and medicine. Many of the examples are cross-linked to their definitions in the biology dictionary on this website. To find the meaning of a suffix, click on its first letter below (you can also search the suffix dictionary from the Suffix Dictionary Search Page).
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What is a Suffix?
A suffix is a letter or series of letters attached to the end of a word, word base, or prefix to produce a derivative word with a new meaning. There are many suffixes used by biologists in constructing scientific names and terminology. For example, in the word termitary, the suffix -ary, meaning connected with or belonging to, is attached to the end of the word termite (after dropping the e). So a termitary, a mound where termites live, is a place belonging to termites.
In general, the suffixes used in constructing scientific terminology and med terms are either of Latin or Greek derivation. In constructing these terms, nearly always, a Latin prefix goes with a Latin suffix, and a Greek prefix goes with a Greek suffix.
Spelling rules:
When a biological or medical suffix beginning with a consonant is added to a stem or prefix ending with a consonant, a vowel, usually -o-, is added as a connector.
Biological and medical terms of Greek or Latin origin ending in -a regularly drop the -a before a suffix beginning with a vowel:
pleura + -al = pleural
urea + -ic = ureic
lamina + -ectomy = laminectomy
If you learn the various biological and medical suffixes and prefixes, you won't be overwhelmed trying to memorize the innumerable polysyllabic words that you'll meet with in your courses. Soon you'll even find that you're understanding many words without looking up their definitions. Many, many biological and medical terms can be constructed from the relatively short list of prefixes and suffixes defined in this dictionary. As you become really familiar with them, you may end up making up some words yourself!
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Medical Suffixes — the Internet's most comprehensive medical and biological suffixes list!
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