Medical Terminology — Prefixes

Common prefixes used in medical and anatomical terms

medterm_flasher 15 terms Dec 22, 2025

Terms 15

brady-

Slow; e.g. bradycardia (slow heart rate)

tachy-

Fast; e.g. tachycardia (rapid heart rate)

hyper-

Above, excessive; e.g. hypertension (high blood pressure)

hypo-

Below, deficient; e.g. hypoglycemia (low blood sugar)

dys-

Difficult, painful; e.g. dyspnea (difficulty breathing)

a-/an-

Without, absent; e.g. anemia (lack of red blood cells)

cyto-

Cell; e.g. cytology, cytoplasm

hemo-/hema-

Blood; e.g. hematoma (blood collection under skin)

nephro-

Kidney; e.g. nephrology, nephritis

neuro-

Nerve; e.g. neurology, neuropathy

osteo-

Bone; e.g. osteoporosis, osteoarthritis

cardio-

Heart; e.g. cardiology, cardiomegaly

pulmo-

Lung; e.g. pulmonary, pulmonologist

hepato-

Liver; e.g. hepatitis, hepatomegaly

derma-

Skin; e.g. dermatology, dermatitis