Prefixes related to direction:
| ab‐ | away from |
| ad‐ | to, toward |
| de‐ | opposite, reverse, remove |
| dia‐ | apart, separate, between |
| e‐, ex‐ | out of, away from |
| in‐ | in, inside, within, not |
| re‐ | back, again |
| retro‐ | behind, backward |
Prefixes describing number or quantity:
| ambi‐, amphi‐ | both |
| bi‐ | two |
| di‐ | two, twice |
| hemi‐ | half |
| mono‐ | one |
| multi‐ | many |
| pan‐ | all, entire |
| poly‐ | many, excessive |
| quadri‐ | four |
| quint‐ | five |
| semi‐ | half, partial |
| tri‐ | three |
Prefixes related to size, amount and color:
| a‐, an‐ | none |
| cyano‐ | blue |
| erythro‐ | red |
| leuko‐ | white |
| macro‐ | large |
| mega‐ | big |
| micro‐ | small |
| mio‐ | less, smaller |
| olig‐ | little, small |
| per‐ | excessive, through, by means of |
Suffixes
By learning the meanings of commonly used suffixes, you will be able to break down parts of an unfamiliar word in order to find out its meaning. For example, if we take the root word “derm,” which means skin, and add the suffix “‐ology,” we get dermatology which is defined as the study of skin. If we add the suffix “‐itis” to “derm,” we end up with dermatitis, which is an inflammation of the skin. So by changing the suffix we can create new words.
Below is a list of some of the suffixes commonly used in veterinary medicine.
| ‐algia | pain |
| ‐centesis | surgical puncture |
| ‐cide | kills |
| ‐cyte | cell |
| ‐ectomy | cutting out, surgically removing |
| ‐emesis | vomit |
| ‐emia | blood condition |
| ‐itis | inflammation |
| ‐ology | science, study of |
| ‐oma | tumor |
| ‐otomy | creation of an opening |
| ‐penia | deficiency of, lack of |
| ‐phag | eating, devouring |
| ‐phobia | abnormal fear, intolerance |
| ‐pnea | breathing |
| ‐ptosis | prolapse, downward displacement |
| ‐rrhage | excessive flow |
| ‐rrhea | flow or discharge |
| ‐scopy | act of examining |
| ‐tomy | cut, incision |
Root words
Below is list of commonly used root words. They are grouped according to their relationship to the anatomy – external or internal. External anatomy refers to any visible part of the body, and internal anatomy refers to organs, bones, and other tissues within the body.
External anatomy
| blepha‐ | eyelid or eyelash |
| capit‐ | head |
| carp‐ | area corresponding to human wrist |
| cervic‐ | neck |
| dactyl‐ | digit, toe |
| dent‐ | tooth or teeth |
| derm‐ | skin |
| gingiv‐ |
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