Surgical Terms

A list of common surgical terms, including the meaning and origin of prefixes and suffixes.

PREFIXES
A-/AnAbAdAerAmbAmphAngioAnteAntiApoAutoBiBrachyBradyCardioCataCephalCholeChromoCircumColoConCyanContraCystCytoDacryDactylDenot, without, less, absent: also, in a particular place or condition (Old English, from an, an alternative for on) Away from, off (Indo-European off, away) To, toward (Latin ad, toward, near) Air Both, on both sides On both sides To do with arteries Before Against, opposite (Greek anti, opposite, against) From, opposed Self Twice, double Short (Greek brakhus short) Slow The heart Down, back, apart (Greek kata) The head To do with bile Colour Around To do with the colon Together Blue (Greek kuanos, dark blue) Against Bag, bladder Cell Tears Finger or toe (Greek daktulos) From, not

DeciDemiDentDermaDiDiaDiploDisDochoDysEct-, EctoEuEndoEnteroEpiEx, exoExtraForeGalactoGastroGenicGlossoHaemHemiHepatoHeteroHoloHomoHydroHyperHypoIdioIleoInfraInterIntraIntro-

Tenth Half Teeth Skin Two, twice, double Through, across (Greek dia) Double Apart, absence of Relating to a duct Bad or abnormal (Greek dus-) External, outside (Greek ektos out) Normal In, within, inside (Greek endo) Small intestine (Greek enteron. in, inside) On, over, above (Greek epi, upon) Out Beyond or outside (Latin extra, outside, beyond) Before, in front of Milk The stomach Producing or related to genes (Greek genos, offspring, race) The tongue Blood (Greek haima) Half, partial (Greek hemi-) Liver Other, dissimilar All Same, similar Water or liquid (Greek hudor) Above or excessive (Greek huper) Under or low (Greek hupo) Private or individual (Greek idios, ones own, private) The ileum Beneath Between, among (Latin inter, between, among) Within or inside (Latin intra) Into or inward (Latin intro)

IsoJuxtraKeratoKineseLactLaparoLaryngoLateroLeptoLeukoLithoMacroMalMediMegaMelanoMenoMesoMetaMicroMioMonoMultiMycoMyoMyeloMyxoNeoNephroNeuroNonObOculoOdontOligoOmoOo-

Equal Near Horn-like tissue, cornea (Greek keras, horn) Movement Milk Abdomen, loin Larynx Side Thin, light, frail White Stone or callculus (Greek lithos, stone) Large Bad Middle Large Black Menopause Middle, intermediate (Greek mesos) Later, behind (Greek meta, beside, after) Small Less, smaller Single Many Fungus, fungi (Greek mukes. slimy) Muscle Marrow Mucus New, recent (Greek neos) Kidney Nerves No Against Eye Tooth Few Shoulder Ovum, egg (Greek oion)

OpisthOrchidOrthoOsOsteoOxyPachyPanParaPathPerPeriPleoPneu-, PneumoPodPoikiloPolyPostPreProProctoProtoPseudoPsychPyPyeloReRetroRhinoSacroSalpingoSarcoScleroScotoSomatoSteato-

Backward Testicle Correct; straight (Greek orthos, straight, right) Mouth, bone Bone (Greek osteon) Sharp Thick All (Greek all) Beside, faulty (Greek para) Disease Going through a structure Around (Greek peri) More Lungs, breathing Foot Iregular, varied More than one (Greek polus, much) After Before Before Anus, rectum (Greek proktos) First False, spurious (Greek pseud to lie) Mind Pus Relating to the pelvis of the kidney Again Backward Nose, nasal (Greek rhis, nose) Sacrum Fallopian tube Flesh Hard Darkness Relating to the body Fat (Greek steat)

StethoSubSupraSynTachyTamponThermoThyroTransTrophoUniUroVasoVermXanth-

Chest Under, below, beneath (Latin sub, under) Over, on top of (Latin supra, above, beyond) With, together Accelerated, rapid (Greek takhus, swift) To plug (French tampon) Heat Thyroid Going across a structure (Latin trans, across, over, through) Nourishment, nutrition One, single (Latin unus) Urine A vessel Worm-like Yellow

SUFFIXES
-aceous -ade -aemia esthesia -agogue -algia -cardial -cele -cephalic -cide -coel(e) -cyst -cyte -creas -dynia -ectasia -ectomy Substance promoting a flow of something (Greek agogos, a drawing off) Pain (Greek algos, pain) Relating to the heart (Greek kardia, heart) Tumor, cyst, hernia Head (Greek kephale, head) Causing death A cavity (Greek koilos, hollow) e.g. hydrocoele A fluid filled sac Cell e.g. phagocyte Flesh (Greek kreas, flesh) e.g. pancreas Pain Dilatation of ducts Surgical excision of a part of the body (Latin -ectomia, cutting out) e.g. tonsillectomy excision of the tonsils Resembling (Latin, related to) An action (Latin ata) Blood (Greek haima, blood)

-aesthesia, - Sensation

-fuge -genic -gogue -gram -itis -lasis -lysis -megaly -morphic -nexal -oid -oma -osis -oscopy -ostomy

To drive away The capacity to produce (Greek -genus, born) To make flow An imaging technique using contrast medium Inflammation (Greek) e.g. appendicitis (inflammation of the appendix) Condition, pathological state Set free, disintegrate Anormal enlargement (Greek megal-) e.g. splenomegaly Something that has a particular form, shape, or structure (Greek morphe) e.g. pleomorphic From nexus indicating a connection or link e.g. adnexal Shape, resemblance A tumour (Latin) e.g. hepatoma a tumour of the liver Abnormal condition, process (Greek) Inspection of a cavity A connection between two hollow organs e.g. cholecystoduodenostomy an anastomosis between the gall bladder and the duodenum

-ostosis -otomy -penia -phagia -pathy -plasia -plasty -plegia -pnoea -poiesis -rhage -rhaphy -rrhoea -sclerosis -scopy -stomosis -systole

Formation of bone (Greek osteon, bone) To cut into a part of the body (Latin -tomia, cutting) e.g. laparotomy an incision into the peritoneum Lack Eating (Greek phagein to eat) Disorder or disease (Greek pathos) Growth or formation (Greek plassein, to form, mould) Surgical revision e.g. pyloroplasty (Greek plastos, refashion) Paralysis Breath, respiration Production Flow Suturing Flow, discharge (Greek rhein, to flow) Dryness, hardness To see To create an outlet Contraction of the heart (Greek sustole to contract)

-tomy -trophic -tropic -uretic

Cutting Nourishment Having an affinity for, turning towards To do with urine

TERMS
Abscess Adenoma Aneurysm Antegrade Arrhythmia Axillary Ballotment Bifurcation Biliary Cannulation Capillary Cirrhosis Claudication Colitis Concomitant Cutaneous Diverticulum Dysplasia Embolus Empyema A localised collection of pus (Latin abscessus, to go away referring to bodily humours going away in the pus) A benign epithelial tumour of glandular origin Dilatation of an artery (Greek aneurusma, dilation, swelling) Going in the direction of flow, e.g. antegrade pyelogram Disturbance or irregularity of the heartbeat Of, relating to, or located near the axilla (armpit) To toss about (French) To divide into two parts or branches Of or relating to bile, the bile ducts, or the gallbladder The insertion of a cannula or tube into a hollow body organ A tube of small internal diameter Chronic degenerative disease of the liver Claudius I (10BC 54AD), Emperor of Rome had a limp, possibly due to polio. Hence the Latin term claudus for lame. Inflammation of the colon Occurring or existing concurrently Relating to or existing on or affecting the skin Plural diverticula (hence, use of the term diverticulae is erroneous) Abnormal development or growth of tissues, organs, or cells A blood clot that becomes lodged in a blood vessel and obstructs it (Greek embolos, peg, stopper, wedge) A collection of pus in a body cavity with atherosclerosis En bloc Fistula On mass; all together A pipe or tube (Latin), plural fistulae. An abnormal communication between two hollow viscera, or one hollow viscera and the skin. It is conventional to name the diseased viscus first i.e. colovesical fistula due to diverticula disease; Endarterectomy Surgical removal of the inner lining of an artery that is clogged

whereas, vesicocolic fistula from a bladder cancer. Fundoplication A surgical procedure involving making tucks in the fundus of the stomach around the lower end of the oesophagus Ganglioma Gangrene A tumour of a ganglion Death of tissue with putrefaction, sometimes referred to as wet gangrene (Greek gaggraina, death of tissue). C.f. necrosis, mummification Haematoma Haemorrhage Haemorrhoid Hepatic Hernia Hydatid Ileus Infarction Inguinal Ischaemia Keloid Laparoscopy Lymphoma Maxillary Mesenteric Mesothelioma A swelling containing blood Heavy bleeding from ruptured blood vessels Pain caused by venous swelling at or inside the anal sphincter Of, relating to, or resembling the liver; acting on or occurring in the liver The abnormal protrusion of the contents of a cavity beyond the normal confines of that cavity Cyst filled with liquid; forms as a result of infestation by tapeworm larvae Intestinal obstruction Infarct: localized necrosis resulting from obstruction of the blood supply Of, relating to, or located in the groin An inadequate supply of blood to a part of the body caused by blockage of an artery An area of raised pink or red fibrous scar tissue at the edges of a wound or incision (Greek khele, crab claw) Laparotomy performed with a laparoscope that makes a small incision to examine the abdominal cavity Any of various usually malignant tumours that arise in the lymph nodes or in other lymphoid tissue Of or relating to a jaw or jawbone, especially the upper one Of or relating to or located in a mesentery A form of carcinoma of the mesothelium lining lungs or abdomen or heart; usually associated with exposure to asbestos dust Metastasis The spreading of a disease (especially cancer) to another part of the body Mummification Death of tissue with desiccation rather than putrefaction, Intussusception The enfolding of one segment of the intestine within another

sometimes referred to as dry gangrene. (French momifier, to dry out and shrivel) Necrosis Nephrectomy Occlusion Omental Ossification Paediatric Perfusion Peritoneal Popliteal Psoas Retrograde Sebaceous Sepsis Sigmoid Sinus Slough Splenic Squamous Stent Stoma Death of tissue with structural evidence of such death Surgical removal of a kidney Closure or blockage (as of a blood vessel) Pertaining to the omentum (a fold of peritoneum supporting the viscera) The developmental process of bone formation Of or relating to the medical care of children Pumping a liquid into an organ or tissue (especially by way of blood vessels) Of or relating to or affecting the peritoneum Of or relating to the area behind the knee joint Either of two muscles of the abdomen and pelvis that flex the trunk and rotate the thigh Going a reverse direction against flow e.g. endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatogram (ERCP) Greasy The presence of pus-forming bacteria or their toxins in the blood or tissues Curved in two directions (like the letter S) A blind tract lined with granulation tissue hollow or gulf (Latin, curve, fold, hollow) A piece of dead soft tissue or water (Old English sloh, a hole or low area in the ground filled with mud) Of or relating to the spleen Covered with or formed of scales; scaly An artificial tube inserted into a tubular organ to keep it open Surgical opening: an artificial opening made in an organ, especially an opening in the colon (colostomy) or ileum (ileostomy) made via the abdomen. (Greek, mouth). Plural stomata Subacute Suture Used to describe a medical condition that develops less rapidly and with less severity than an acute condition The fine thread or other material used surgically to close a wound or join tissues; an immovable joint (especially between the bones of the skull)

Thrombus Tomography Tonsillar Ulcer

A blood clot that forms in a blood vessel and remains at the site of formation (Greek thrombos, clot) Obtaining pictures of the interior of the body Of or pertaining to the tonsils A non-traumatic discontinuity of an epithelial surface (Latin ulcer, a sore)

Varicose veins Dilated, lengthened, and tortuous veins Ventricular Of or relating to a ventricle (of the heart or brain)

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