Foundations of Medical Terminology

This unit introduces students to the building blocks of medical language, including roots, prefixes, suffixes, combining forms, pronunciation, spelling, pluralization, acronyms, and common abbreviations. Students will apply these fundamentals to identify and interpret terminology for major body systems and prepare to use that knowledge in clinical and applied contexts in subsequent units.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze the structure of medical terms by identifying roots, combining forms, prefixes, and suffixes and determining their meanings in context
• Apply pronunciation, spelling, and pluralization rules to accurately pronounce, spell, and form plurals for common medical terms, including commonly misspelled and difficult terms
• Demonstrate the ability to construct and deconstruct medical terms, acronyms, and abbreviations and interpret their meanings as they relate to major body systems
• Evaluate and match medical terminology to anatomical structures and physiological functions across major body systems and use digital/reference resources to verify term usage