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Medical Terminology: Adjectives

Medical terminology adjectives are based on the same root words as nouns and can take
one of several endings. For now, we will concentrate on those that end in al, and -ic.

1. -al is a very common suffix in medical terminology. Adjectives corresponding to


nouns that end with um or -ium usually end with al and so do many nouns that end
with a.

Noun Meaning Adjective Example of use


Myocardium The heart muscle Myocardial Myocardial infarction
Endometrium Lining of the uterus Endometrial Endometrial biopsy

Rectum Last part of the Rectal Rectal thermometer


large intestine
Ileum Part of the small Ileal Ileal valve
intestine

2. ic is another common ending and is found in adjectives that correspond to nouns that
end with any of the following suffixes

Suffix Meaning Adjectives Example of use


- itis Inflammation - itic Arthritic joints
- pathy Disease/damage - pathic Neuropathic symptoms
- plegia Paralysis - plegic Paraplegic
- pnea Breath - pneic Tachypneic
- rrhea Flow - rrheic Amenorrheic
- rrhagia Fast flow - rrhagic Hemorrhagic fever
- scopy Visual exam - scopic Endoscopic examination
- sclerosis Hardening - Sclerotic Sclerotic lesions
- stasis Control/stop - static Oncostatic
-trophy Growth/nourishment - trophic Atrophic
3) Many root words and organ names take ic or al adjective endings as well

Root Organ/body part Adjective Example of Use


Cephal Head Cephalic Mesenteric vessels
Cyst Bladder/sac Cysctic Cystic fibrosis
Enter Intestines Enteric Mesenteric arteriography
Hepat Liver Hepatic Hepatic duct
Pneumon Lung Pneumonic Pneumonic plague
Splen Spleen Splenic Splenic enlargement
Ped Foot Pedal Pedal edema
Digit Finger Digital Digital rectal examination
Derm Skin Dermal Transdermal delivery system
Neur Nerve Neural Neural tube defect

Note: dermal means of the skin, but some adjective containing the root -derm end in
-ic, as in hypodermic, which means under the skin.

4) There are several other adjective endings, such as:

Noun ending Example Adjective


-cle/cule Clavicle Clavicular
-ula Scapula Scapular
-ynx Larynx Laryngeal
-illa Axilla Axillary

Visit the class website for medical terminology vocabulary exercises and activities.

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