PREFIXES- APPEAR AT THE BEGINNING OF A WORD. SUFFIXES - FOUND AT THE ENDOF THE WORD. FOR A MEDICAL CODER, IT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW SOME COMMON PREFIX AND SUFFIX IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND THE CPT CODE DESCRIPTIONS, ESPECIALLY SURGERY CODES. GENERALLY, WE CAN SPLIT MOST OF THE MEDICAL TERMS INTO COMPONENT, WHICH MAKE THEM EASIER TO UNDERSTAND. MANY OF THESE TERMS ARE DERIVED FROM LATIN OR GREEK. COMMON PREFIXES UNI – ONE MONO – ONE BI – TWO AMBI – BOTH DIPLO - DOUBLE TRI – THREE QUADR – FOUR HEX – SIX BRADY – DECREASE TACHY – INCREASE HYPER – EXCESSIVE / ABOVE HYPO – DEFICIENT / BELOW MEGALO – LARGE MICRO – SMALL DYS – DIFFICULT MAL – BAD EU – NORMAL/GOOD ENDO – WITHIN EXO – OUTSIDE EPI – UPON PERI – SURROUNDING TRANS – THROUGH INFRA – BELOW SUPRA – ABOVE IPSI – SAME ISO – SAME CONTRA – OPPOSITE RETRO – BACK HETERO – DIFFERENT HOMO – SAME COMMON SUFFIXES MEDICAL CONDITIONS RELATED SUFFIX WORDS: –ALGIA /DYNIA: PAIN –ASTHENIA: WEAKNESS –EMIA: BLOOD –ITIS: INFLAMMATION –LYSIS: DESTRUCTION; BREAK DOWN –LYTIC: DESTROY –OMA: TUMOR –OPATHY: DISEASE OF –ORRHAGIA: HEMORRHAGE –ORRHEA: DISCHARGE –PARESIS: WEAKNESS –PLEGIA: PARALYSIS –PLASIA: GROWTH –PNEA: BREATHING –MALACIA: SOFTENING –LITHIASIS: STONE/CALCULUS –PHAGIA: SWALLOWING –PHASIA: SPEAKING –PHONIA: VOICE –STENOSIS: NARROWING –ECTASIS: DILATION –XEROSIS: DRYNESS –MYCOSIS: FUNGI MEDICAL PROCEDURES RELATED SUFFIX WORDS: –CENTESIS: PUNCTURE A CAVITY TO REMOVE FLUID –ECTOMY: SURGICAL REMOVAL –OPLASTY: SURGICAL REPAIR –ORRHAPHY: SURGICAL REPAIR/SUTURE –OSTOMY: SURGICAL OPENING –OTOMY: SURGICAL CUTTING INTO –OTRIPSY: CRUSHING, DESTROYING –GRAPHY: RADIOGRAPHIC EXAMINATION FOLLOWING CONTRAST INJECTION –DESIS: SURGICAL UNION –SCOPE: AN INSTRUMENT TO VIEW/EXAMINE –SCOPY: TO VIEW/VISUALIZE –GRAM RECORD –TRIPSY CRUSHING –PEXY SURGICAL FIXATION –LOGY: STUDY –LOGIST: ONE WHO STUDIES EXAMPLES; TONSILLITIS – INFLAMMATION OF THE TONSILS (SUFFIX WORD –ITIS REFER TO INFLAMMATION) PANCREATITIS – INFLAMMATION OF THE PANCREAS (SUFFIX WORD –ITIS REFER TO INFLAMMATION) APPENDECTOMY – SURGICAL REMOVAL OF APPENDIX (SUFFIX WORD -ECTOMY REFER TO SURGICAL REMOVAL) SPLENECTOMY - SURGICAL REMOVAL OF THE SPLEEN (SUFFIX WORD -ECTOMY REFER TO SURGICAL REMOVAL) COLONOSCOPY – ENDOSCOPIC EXAMINATION OF COLON (SUFFIX WORD -SCOPY REFER TO VIEWING USING INSTRUMENT) DYSURIA – DIFFICULT IN URINATION (PREFIX WORD DYS- REFER TO DIFFICULTY) TRANSRECTAL – THROUGH THE RECTUM (PREFIX WORD TRANS- REFER TO THROUGH) HETEROGRAFT – GRAFT TOOK FROM DIFFERENT SPECIES (PREFIX WORD HETERO- REFER TO DIFFERENT)
