Comprehensive Dictionary

Medical Terminology Glossary

Master the building blocks of clinical documentation. Search through prefixes, roots, suffixes, and common medical terms.

Prefixes

10 items

Myo-

Muscle

Electro-

Electricity

Tachy-

Fast

Brady-

Slow

Hyper-

Above/Excessive

Hypo-

Below/Deficient

Peri-

Around

Endo-

Within/Inner

Epi-

Upon/Over

Osteo-

Bone

Roots

13 items

Cardi/o

Heart

-pnea

Breathing

Gastr/o

Stomach

Hepat/o

Liver

Nephr/o

Kidney

Neur/o

Nerve

Dermat/o

Skin

Pneum/o

Lungs/Air

Arthr/o

Joint

Oste/o

Bone

Glyc/o

Sugar

Lip/o

Fat

-tension

Pressure

Suffixes

10 items

-pathy

Disease

-gram

Record/Picture

-itis

Inflammation

-ectomy

Surgical Removal

-scopy

Visual Examination

-emia

Blood Condition

-osis

Abnormal Condition

-plasty

Surgical Repair

-megaly

Enlargement

-algia

Pain

Full Medical Terms

21 items

Myocardiopathy

A disease of the heart muscle.

Coding Insight

Most commonly coded via I42.- in the ICD-10 chapters.

Electrocardiogram

A record or display of a person's heartbeat produced by electrocardiography.

Cardiomegaly

Abnormal enlargement of the heart.

Endocarditis

Inflammation of the inner lining of the heart's chambers and valves.

Coding Insight

Review carefully between acute and subacute variants (I33.0 or I33.9).

Tachypnea

Abnormally rapid breathing.

Coding Insight

Usually a symptom code (R06.82) unless part of a broader disease process.

Bradypnea

Abnormally slow breathing.

Gastritis

Inflammation of the protective lining of the stomach.

Endoscopy

A non-surgical procedure used to examine a person's digestive tract.

Coding Insight

CPT 43239 includes biopsy. Do not code biopsy separately.

Hepatomegaly

Enlargement of the liver beyond its normal size.

Coding Insight

Often coded as R16.0 (Hepatomegaly, not elsewhere classified).

Hypertension

High blood pressure inside the vasculature.

Coding Insight

Primary Essential Hypertension is famously coded as I10.

Hypotension

Low blood pressure.

Hyperglycemia

High blood sugar, typically indicative of diabetes mellitus.

Coding Insight

Often assigned R73.9, or specific E-codes if due to diabetes.

Arthritis

Inflammation of one or more joints.

Osteoarthritis

Degeneration of joint cartilage and the underlying bone.

Coding Insight

Codes widely vary depending on lateralizing site (M15-M19 block).

Arthroscopy

Surgical procedure utilizing a small camera to look inside a joint.

Coding Insight

Very common in CPT (e.g., knee arthroscopy under 29881).

Arthralgia

Nonspecific pain in a joint.

Nephrectomy

The surgical removal of one or both of the kidneys.

Gastrectomy

Surgical removal of a part or the whole of the stomach.

Neuropathy

Disease or dysfunction of one or more peripheral nerves, typically causing numbness or weakness.

Neuralgia

Intense, typically intermittent pain along the course of a nerve.

Dermatitis

A condition of the skin in which it becomes red, swollen, and sore.