Learn Medical Terminology and Human Anatomy

In the medical field, there are multiple complex physiology and anatomy terms you may have noticed tossed around.

With our comprehensive list of medical terms, you can learn the most common surgical and anatomical terms.

For a better understanding, we will explore them by suffixes, prefixes, and roots.

Numbers

Often, you can come across a term with a prefix describing a number.

The most common of them include:

Prefixes mono- or uni- mean ‘One’.

For example, Unilateral.

Bi- means ‘Two’ – e.g., Bilateral.

Similarly, tri- stands for ‘Three’, e.g., triplicate.

Directions and Positions

In medicine, you can find terms describing where a condition or procedure takes place on the human body.

Ab- is the prefix meaning ‘Away from’, e.g., Abduction.

Ad- means ‘Toward’ as in the example, Adduction.

Ecto- and exo- stand for ‘Outside’, for example, Ectoparasire.

Endo means ‘Inside’, e.g., Endoderm.

Epi-, as in the example, Epinenephrine, means ‘Upon’.

There are multiple directional and positional terms as well.

They don’t contain prefixes or suffixes but are standalone worlds.

The following list includes some of the most valuable medical billing terminologies:

• Anterior or ventral means ‘near or at the front surface of the body’ – “Anterior nerves”.
• Superior means ‘above’ – “Superior (cranial) aspect”.
• Proximal means ‘nearest to the center’ – “Proximal end of the forearm”.
• Inferior means ‘below’ – “Inferior aspect”.
• Posterior or dorsal means ‘near or at the real surface of the body’ – “Dorsal surface of the hand”.
• Lateral means ‘side’ – “Lateral aspect”.
• Distal means ‘farthest from the center’ – “Axons distal to the injury”.

Basic Anatomy Terms

With this medical billing terminology, you can get a better understanding of the medical practice, decipher doctor’s reports, and navigate the ICD and CPT manuals easier.

Below, you might recognize some of the basic terms for regions of the human body:

• Abdominal – Abdomen.
• Cranial – Skull.
• Buccal – Cheek.
• Hallux – Great toe.
• Digital – Fingers and toes.
• Gluteal – Buttock.
• Femoral – Thigh.
• Mammary – Breast.
• Lumbar – Loin (the lowest part of the spine below the false ribs and between the hips).
• Inguinal – Groin.
• Pectoral – Chest.
• Thoracic – Chest.
• Nasal – Nose.
• Occipital – Back of the head.
• Ventral – Belly.
• Sternal – Breastbone.
• Umbilical – Navel.

Conditions

Now, let’s explore conditions that may affect the body parts listed in the terminology list above.

Prefixes:

• Eu- ‘Good, normal’ – “Eukaryote”.
• Ambi- ‘Both’ – “Ambidextrous”.
• Dys- ‘Bad, painful, difficult’ – “Dyslexia”
• Mal- ‘Bad, poor’ – “Malnutrition”.
• Homo- ‘Same’ – “Homogenous”.

Suffixes:

• -itis ‘Inflammation’ – “Bronchitis”.
• -oid ‘Like’ – “Haploid”.
• -pnea ‘Breathing’ – “Sleep apnea”.
• -emia ‘Blood’ – “Hypoglycemia”.
• -algia ‘Pain’ – “Myalgia”.
• -opathy ‘Disease of’ – “Neuropathy”.
• -lysis ‘Destruction, break down’ – “Dialysis”.

Surgical Procedures

Let’s top this list off with some common surgical procedures.

It’s always essential where on the body a procedure is being performed, so these terms are a useful addition to this part.

If you memorize the suffixes, you’ll know right away what kind of procedure is being performed, even if you don’t really know what this procedure is for.

• -ostomy ‘A new permanent opening’ – “Tracheostomy”.
• -orrhaphy ‘Surgical repair or suture’ – “Gastrorrhaphy”.
• -centesis ‘Puncture a cavity to remove fluid’ – “Amniocentesis”.
• -oplasty ‘Surgical repair’ – “Rhinoplasty”.
• -ectomy ‘Surgical removal or excision’ – “Hysterectomy”.
• -opexy ‘Surgical fixation’ – “Nephropexy”.
• -otripsy ‘Crushing or destroying’ – “Lithotripsy”.
• -otomy ‘Cutting into, incision’ – “Gastrotomy”.

To study human anatomy terms, you can also use your CPT manual.

Modern manuals come with illustrations, charts, and diagrams throughout the book, which includes terminology abbreviations list.

At the beginning of the manual, you will find a list of anatomical illustrations.

You can save this page and refer to it whenever you need an illustration of an inner ear or the eye, or need to remember which arteries go where.