Prefix

Prefix (Medicine)

Prefix (/ˈpriːfɪks/; from Latin praefixus, past participle of praefigere to fix in front, from prae- 'before' + figere 'to fix') is a morpheme that is affixed to the beginning of a word in order to modify its meaning. In the field of medicine, prefixes are used to denote specific conditions, procedures, or anatomical regions.

Common Medical Prefixes

• A- or An- (from Greek an- 'not, without'): Denotes absence or lack of something. For example, anemia (lack of blood).
• Anti- (from Greek anti- 'against'): Denotes opposition or resistance. For example, antibiotic (against life, referring to the action against bacteria).
• Hyper- (from Greek hyper- 'over, above'): Denotes excess or exaggeration. For example, hypertension (high blood pressure).
• Hypo- (from Greek hypo- 'under, beneath'): Denotes deficiency or under. For example, hypoglycemia (low blood sugar).
• Inter- (from Latin inter- 'between'): Denotes between or among. For example, intercellular (between cells).
• Intra- (from Latin intra- 'within'): Denotes inside or within. For example, intravenous (within a vein).
• Post- (from Latin post- 'after'): Denotes after or following. For example, postoperative (after surgery).
• Pre- (from Latin pre- 'before'): Denotes before. For example, prenatal (before birth).

Related Terms

• Suffix: A morpheme added at the end of a word to modify its meaning.
• Root: The base part of a word from which other words are derived.
• Affix: A morpheme that is attached to a word stem to form a new word or word form.
• Morpheme: The smallest meaningful unit of language.

External links

• Medical encyclopedia article on Prefix
• Wikipedia's article - Prefix

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