Becoming a doctor means learning a new language. It is no secret that medical professionals use large and confusing words. Although this may be the source of unending frustration to patients; medical terms can be fun. This quiz will test your knowledge of some common and not so common medical terms. Take the quiz and see if you are fluent in “doctor talk”.

Understanding Medical Terms

Learning medical terminology is much like learning a new language. Medical students are often amazed at the volume of new words they encounter. If you would like to achieve fluency you will need to devote time and effort to study. In addition, the more you use the new words that you encounter, the easier they will be to remember. In addition, medical terminology uses many common prefixes and suffixes. If you learn those, it is easy to deduce the meaning of the word.

Common Prefixes

A, an: Lack of, or without

Alb: Pale color

Ante: In front of

Apo: Away

Bi: Two

Co, con: Together

Extra: Outside of

Hemi: Half

Hyper: Excessive

Hypo: Deficient

Infra: Below

Inter: Between

Common Suffixes

-ac: Pertaining to

-acusis: Hearing

-ad: Toward

-algia: Pain

-atresia: Closure

-cele: Hernia

-cide: Killing

-clast: To break

-desis: To bind together

-dilation: To widen

-dynia: Pain

-emia: Blood condition

-ferent: To carry

-genic: Produced by or in

-ium: Tissue

-megaly: enlargement

-penia: deficiency

-pnea: breathing

Learning methods

Some medical students struggle with medical language, whereas others pick it up naturally. In general, simply being in an environment where medical language is used will help students retain new words. If there are some terms that you struggle with, making flashcards may be useful. Some students find that keeping a list of new words and re-writing them daily is helpful to their learning. Others prefer to create mnemonics or songs to help with their memory. You will quickly learn which method works best for your style of learning.