7 min read
How to Break Down a Medical Term Into Its Word Parts
Split any medical term into prefix, root, combining vowel, and suffix - read it back to front, and work out the meaning without a dictionary.
Guides
Medical Terminology Guides
Free in-depth guides to reading medical terminology: word-part breakdowns, combining vowels, suffix families, Latin and Greek plurals, and study method.
Guides8
7 min read
The Combining Vowel Rule: When Medical Terms Keep the O and When They Drop It
Why it is gastritis but hepatomegaly. The two-clause combining vowel rule, the root-to-root exception, and how to stop misspelling medical terms.
8 min read
-itis, -osis, -emia, -pathy: How the Medical Suffix Families Differ
Four suffixes do most of the work in clinical vocabulary. What each one claims about a term, how they contrast, and the neighbours they get confused with.
8 min read
Medical Terminology Plurals: The Latin and Greek Endings, TermDecode
Bacterium to bacteria, diagnosis to diagnoses, vertebra to vertebrae. The eight plural patterns behind medical nouns, and when English wins instead.
8 min read
How to Decode an Unfamiliar Medical Term You Meet in a Chart
A repeatable routine for reading a term you have never seen: strip the ending, find the root, check for a prefix, and know when to stop and look it up.
8 min read
-ectomy, -tomy, -stomy, -plasty: The Surgical Suffixes Compared
Remove, cut into, make an opening, repair. The eleven surgical suffixes, what each one claims, and how to stop confusing the look-alikes.
8 min read
Medical Prefixes: The Position, Number, Time and Degree Families
Learn 68 medical prefixes as five small families instead of one long list - plus the opposition pairs that cause the most costly misreadings.
8 min read
Study Medical Terminology by Word Part, Not by Memorising Whole Terms
Why learning the word parts beats memorising whole terms - with a concrete study sequence, drill design, and spaced review schedule to do it with.
Medical Disclaimer
TermDecode is for education only. It is not medical advice, diagnosis, treatment guidance, or a substitute for clinical judgment, local policy, or instructor direction.