Main Article: Avian Medical Terms by Jeannine Miesle, MA, Allied Member, Association of Avian Veterinarians
Prefixes:
A, an, ana: without, no
Ab: away from
Ad: toward
Aer/Aero: oxygen/air
Adipo: fat
Anem: blood condition
Anti: against
Auto: self, within
Blephar: eyellids
Chezein: feces
Copr: feces
Chrome/chromo: color
Cyan: blue discoloration
Cyto: cell
Dys: bad, painful, difficult
Ecto: outside
Endo: inside, within
Epi: above
Eu: good, easy, normal
Ex,exo: without, out of, outside, away from
Extra: outside
Hetero: other, dissimilar
Histo: tissue
Homo-Same
Hyper: more than normal
Hypo: less than normal
Illi: hip
Infra: below, beneath
Inter: between
Intra: within
Isch: to hold back
Karyo-nucleus
Leu/leuko: white
Leio/lio: smooth
Lipid/lipo: fat
Meso: middle
Meta: beyond
Myco: fungus
Myelo: bone marrow, where body makes cells
Myxo: mucous, slime
Neo: new
Oligo: scant, little
Onco: tumor, mass
Onycho: nails
Pan: all
Para: alongside, associated with, closely resembling true form, beyond, outside of, faulty, irregular, abnormal, accessory to, against, apart from
Per: throughout
Peri: around, before, during, after
Phagia: eat, swallow
Poly: many, excessive
Pre: before
Post: after
Proprio: owns own
Sub: beneath, below, nearly, almost, under, less
Super, supra: above, beyond, excessive
Thelo: nipple, thin membrane
Thymo: thymus, mind, soul, emotions
Tono:tone, tension
Trans: across
Ultra: above, increased, more than normal
Vaso: vessel or duct, circulatory
“Pertaining To” suffixes, “as in”
-ac: cardiac, heart
-al: renal, kidney
-an: ovarian, ovary
-ar: lumbar, lower back
-are: alimentary, GI track
-eal: laryngeal, larynx
-ic: enteric, intestines
-ous: skin
-tic: nephrotic, kidneys
-prandial: a meal
Suffixes:
-algia: pain
-ase: enzyme ending
-blast: immature stage in cellular development before appearance of definitive characteristics of the cell;
-centesis: surgical puncture to remove fluid or gas
-cyte: cell -dynia: pain
-ectasis: distending, stretching
-ectomy: surgical procedure to remove organ
-emia: blood condition
-gram: record of
-graph: recording instrument
-graphy: written, studied about, recording procedure
-iasis: parasite infestation; name preceeds suffix, e.g., trichomoniasis
-itis: inflammation
-lith: body or mass
-lithiasis: presence of stones
-lysis: break down, loosen, decomposition
-logy: study of
-malacia: abnormal softening
-megaly: enlargement
-mycin: substance derived from bacteria
-oma: tumor, neoplasm, or specific tissue which precedes suffix, e.g., lipomas, fatty tumor
-ometry: measurement
-osis:/otic: increased number, abnormal actions, conditions or states, disorders
-osis: disease caused by organism whose name precedes it, e.g., salmonellosis
-pathy: disease or condition of
-penia: deficiency, reduced number
-pexy: suture to stabilize, e.g., gastropexy: suture to abdominal wall
-philia: attraction for, increased numbers
-plasia: formation, development, growth of tissue and cell numbers; change is size or tissue and cells; describes problems with tissue formation
-plasty: surgical repairs, e.g., rhinoplasty, repair of nose
-poietic/poiesis: formation
-ptosis: drooping, dropping down, e.g., prolapsis
-rrhage/rrhagia: bursting forth
-rrhaphy: to suture
-rrhea: flow, discharge
-rrhexis: rupture
-sclerosis: abnormal hardening
-scope: procedure to visually examine
-stomy: incision, cut into
-thymia: condition of the mind
-trophy: formation, development, increase in size of tissue
-tropic: having an affinity for or attraction to
-um: structure
-uro,-uria: of urinary tract, urine’
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by Jeannine Miesle, MA Allied Member, Association of Avian Veterinarians
