You’ve made the decision to study Anatomy and Physiology and have thrown yourself into the course. But learning Latin anatomical names is a formidable task.
Why Latin? The majority of names relating to anatomy are Latin-based, as it was the language of science up to the beginning of the 18th century. All medical texts were written in Latin.
To this day it is used as a means to standardise language for medical professionals, and with a little knowledge, you too can be learning key terms and anatomical names with ease. It will help you understand that names can be broken down into different parts, each part having a different meaning. It will suddenly make sense.
Get to grips with your A&P by learning these basic prefixes. These are the one or more syllables placed before a word that change its meaning:
A-, an- a deficiency, lack or weakness
Eg. Anaemia - lack of blood
Eg. Anaesthesia - lack of feeling
Ab- move away from
Eg. Hip abductor muscle
Ad- move towards
Eg. Hip adductor muscle
Ana- up, again
Eg. Anatomy, meaning cutting up, dissecting
Anti- opposite of, against
Eg. Antiseptic - against infection
Apo- off, away from
Eg. Apophysis - a bony projection
Dia- across, through
Eg. Diaphragm - muscle stretching across lower thoracic cavity
Dys- difficult, bad, defective
Eg. Dyspnea - difficulty in breathing
Ec-, ex- out of, outward, out
Eg. Ectopic - an out of place occurrence
En- within, in
Eg. Encephalon - inside the brain
Epi- over, upon, outer
Eg. Epidermis - outer layer of skin
Hyper- excessive, over, above
Eg. Hyperthyroidism - excessive activity of the thyroid
Hypo- insufficient, under, below
Eg. Hypoglycaemia - low blood sugar level
Meta- beyond, after
Eg. Metatarsal - middle bones of the foot after the tarsal bones
Para- alongside, near, abnormal
Eg. Parotid gland - alongside the ear
Peri- around, about
Eg. Periosteum - membrane around the bone
Pre- before, in front of
Eg. Prefrontal cortex of the brain
Pro- before, forward, in advance of
Eg. Prognosis - forecast or knowing in advance
Sub- under, below, beneath
Eg. Subclavian artery - runs under the clavicle
Supra- above, over
Eg. Supraspinatus muscle - runs above the spine of the scapula
Sy-, syn-, sym- together, with, joined
Eg, Synapse - connection joining neurons
In Part Two, we’ll look at the prefixes used to indicate parts of the body.
"The level 3 anatomy and physiology course has been really worthwhile and provided me with a much needed foundation in A&P. Thanks for providing such an accessible, and easy to follow study program."
- gill Tree -
GM Tree Training Ltd
5 Clumber Drive
Frome
Somerset BA11 2LG
United Kingdom
T: +44 (0)203 553 1060
© 2021 GM Tree Training Ltd, All rights reserved