Medical Prefixes Terminology Quiz (2024)

Medical prefixes quiz time! Test your knowledge of common medical prefixes.

Medical prefixes are those words or letters added to the beginning of a root word to add information. Understanding the meaning of the various medical prefixes can help you understand what a word means. You’ll learn all about medical prefixes, suffixes, and more in medical terminology or nursing terminology courses.

Before taking the quiz below, you may want to review our medical prefixes video or medical prefixes notes.

Medical Prefixes Quiz

1. What is the meaning of the prefix “hyper?”

a. excessive or high

b. low or below

c. equal or same

d. water

The answer is a, excessive or high. In hypernatremia, there is a high level of sodium in the blood.

2. What is the meaning of the prefix “iso?”

a. low or below

b. excessive or high

c. equal or same

d. water

The answer is c, equal. Isotonic solutions are fluids that have roughly an equal tonicity to the blood plasma.

3. The prefix “neuro” means:

a. kidney

b. nerve

c. ear

d. membrane

The answer is b, nerve. A neurologist is a person specializing in the brain and nervous system.

4. What is the meaning of the prefix macro?

a. small

b. after

c. beyond

d. large

The answer is d, large. In macrocytic anemia, red blood cells become too large, leading to anemia.

5. What does the prefix “a” mean?

a. before

b. away

c. towards

d. without

The answer is d, without. Aphasia means without speech or the ability to communicate.

6. The prefix “cephal” refers to which of the following?

a. neck

b. head

c. half

d. eye

The answer is b, head. The cephalic region is the region of the head.

7. What does “brady” mean as a prefix?

a. fast

b. liver

c. slow

d. between

The answer is c, slow. In bradycardia, the heart is beating at a slow rate (usually less than 60 bpm).

8. The prefix “pulmo” refers to which of the following?

a. lungs

b. liver

c. spleen

d. stomach

The answer is a, lungs. A pulmonologist is a person who specializes in the lungs.

9. What does the prefix “tachy” mean?

a. slow

b. across

c. beside

d. fast

The answer is d, fast. Tachycardia is a fast heart rate (above 100 beats per minute in an adult).

10. What does the prefix “rhino” mean?

a. head

b. spleen

c. nose

d. eye

The answer is c, nose. Rhinitis is inflammation of the nose or nasal passages.

11. The prefix “phleb” refers to which of the following?

a. vein

b. fast

c. phlem

d. fake

The answer is a, vein. A phlebotomist is a person who removes blood from your veins.

12. The prefix “derm” means which of the following?

a. skin

b. muscle

c. bone

d. above

The answer is a, skin. A dermatologist specializes in the skin. The dermis is the middle layer of the skin.

13. What does the prefix “cardio” mean?

a. muscle

b. tongue

c. cardinal directions

d. heart

The answer is d, heart. Cardiovascular exercise helps condition your heart.

14. What is the meaning of the prefix “cost?”

a. skin

b. appendix

c. lungs

d. ribs

The answer is d, ribs. The costovertebral region is the region where the ribs join the vertebrae.

15. What does the prefix “angi” mean?

a. vessel

b. angle

c. chest

d. tissue

The answer is a, vessel. An angioma is a tumor made primarily of blood vessels.

16. What is the meaning of the prefix “andro?”

a. male

b. female

c. high

d. low

The answer is a, male or male characteristics.

17. What is the meaning of the prefix “dys?”

a. little or less

b. difficult

c. before

d. against

The answer is b, difficult. Dysphagia refers to difficulty eating or swallowing.

18. What is the meaning of the prefix “erythro?”

a. blue

b. green

c. red

d. vessel

The answer is c, red. Erythrocytes are red blood cells.

19. The prefix “arthr” refers to which term below?

a. marrow

b. joint

c. vessel

d. intestine

The answer is b, joint. Arthritis is inflammation of the joints.

20. Which term below relates to the prefix “gastr?”

a. stomach

b. bone

c. flatulence

d. excessive

The answer is a, stomach. Gastritis is inflammation of the stomach.

21. The prefix “glosso” relates to which term below?

a. belly

b. gastrointestinal tract

c. stomach

d. tongue

The answer is d, tongue. The glossopharyngeal nerve is cranial nerve 9. This deals with movement of the tongue.

22. What is the meaning of the prefix “entero?”

a. tongue

b. intestine

c. ear

d. within

The answer is b, intestine. Enteritis is inflammation of the intestine.

23. What does the prefix “gyneco” mean?

a. female reproductive system

b. male reproductive system

c. membrane

d. muscle

The answer is a, female reproductive system. A gynecologist is a person who specializes in female reproductive health.

24. What does the prefix “intra” mean?

a. outside of

b. above

c. inside or within

d. below

The answer is c, inside or within. When a nurse delivers medication via the intravascular route, it goes within the vascular system.

25. What does the prefix “hemo” or “hema” mean?

a. cell

b. blood

c. kidney

d. liver

The answer is b, blood. A hematologist is a person who specializes in blood disorders.

26. The prefix “hepat” means which of the following?

a. liver

b. blood

c. heavy

d. kidney

The answer is a, liver. Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver.

27. What does the prefix “oligo” mean?

a. high

b. too much or more

c. little or less

d. oily

The answer is c, little or less. Oliguria means there is little or less urine output.

28. What does the prefix “myo” mean?

a. beside

b. heart

c. far

d. muscle

The answer is d, muscle. The myocardium is the muscle tissue found in the heart.

29. What does the prefix “osteo” mean?

a. bone

b. muscle

c. before

d. after

The answer is a, bone. Osteoporosis is the thinning of the bones.

30. What does the prefix “epi” mean?

a. below or under

b. on top of or above

c. around

d. within

The answer is b, on top of or above. The epidermis is the layer of skin on top of (or above) the dermis.

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Medical Prefixes Terminology Quiz (2024)

FAQs

How do you memorize medical prefixes? ›

Use Acronyms

While using acronyms can take some initial creative thinking, they are extremely effective when trying to memorize groups of related words. Once you have a group of words, take the first letter from each and rearrange them to form something that will be easy to remember.

How to pass a medical terminology exam? ›

Spell medical terms with a high degree of accuracy. Pronounce medical terms correctly and recognize that some terms have more than one acceptable pronunciation. Relate an understanding of the basic principles of human anatomy and physiology, and apply this understanding to the use of appropriate medical terms.

View Details ›

What is the prefix and suffix of hepatitis? ›

A college-level medical terminology course would teach you that the prefix “hepat-” means liver and the suffix “-itis” means inflammation. So, hepatitis means your liver is inflamed.

Read On ›

What are common medical prefixes? ›

Common Prefixes

PREFIX	MEANING	EXAMPLE OF USE IN MEDICAL TERMS
Necr/o-	Death	Necrosis
Neo-	New	Neonate
Oxy-	Sharp; Acute; Oxygen	Oxytocin
Pan-, Pant/o-	All or everywhere	Pancytopenia

22 more rows

Get More Info Here ›

How can I learn prefixes easily? ›

How do you use prefixes?

No.1: Keep the root. The spelling of the base word never changes. Simply add the prefix to the beginning of the base word. ...
No.2: Double letters are correct! Be aware that double letters can occur. ...
No. 3: Sometimes you need a hyphen.

Feb 9, 2022

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What is the fastest way to learn medical terminology? ›

Use visual memory

To take it a step further, when you pair a word with an image, you're more likely to remember it. It also helps if you hear the word or say it out loud as you visualize it. Pair your medical term with a diagram, photo, or visual memory to help you learn and remember it faster.

Learn More Now ›

What is the prefix of hypertension? ›

Hyper- is a prefix that means "over" or "beyond" — if you're hyper you're wildly energetic. Tension means "stretching" or "straining." Hypertension, therefore, means "straining beyond." With hypertension, your blood pressure is abnormally high, causing a strain on your blood vessels.

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What is the prefix for liver? ›

Hepat- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “liver.” It is often used in medical terms, especially in anatomy. Hepat- comes from the Greek hêpar, meaning “liver.”

Know More ›

Which suffix means crushing? ›

The suffix meaning 'to crush' is '-tripsy'.

What are 20 examples of prefixes? ›

List of Commonly-Used Prefixes and Suffixes with Examples

A- (abiotic, atypical)
Un- (undo, unfold)
Im- (impolite, immature)
In- (intolerant, indisciplined)
Il- (illogical, illegible)
Ir- (irregular, irresponsible)
De- (decode, destress)
Re- (redo, reappear)

More items...

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What is the prefix for brain? ›

What does encephalo- mean? Encephalo- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “brain.” It is often used in medical terms, especially in anatomy. Encephalo- comes from the Greek enképhalos, meaning “brain.” Literally, enképhalos means “in (en-) the head (kephalē).” That is where you can find the brain, after all.

Tell Me More ›

What is the prefix for fat? ›

Adipo- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “fat, fatty tissue.” It is often used in medical and scientific terms, including in biology and chemistry. Adipo- ultimately comes from the Latin adeps, meaning “fat, lard, grease.”

Find Out More ›

How do you study prefixes? ›

When you see a prefix whose meaning you do not know, look up its meaning in a dictionary. Write the prefix and its meaning where you can refer to it easily and often. Review the meaning of these prefixes from time to time. Form words by adding these prefixes to root words.

Read On ›

Why not just memorize each medical term? ›

The reason we don't memorize the terms is because there are too many to do that so. Instead we learn the meaning of the roots, suffixes, prefixes, and the component forms. This way you learn how to read them to correctly in order to understand their full meaning.

Keep Reading ›

What prefixes should be taught first? ›

The most common prefixes are un and re. These two prefixes are the most useful for beginning spellers to learn because they appear frequently and their meanings are easy to understand and remember.

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How do you learn prefixes for big measurements? ›

Learn the prefixes as powers of ten.

giga- = 1 000 000 000 = 10⁹
mega- = 1 000 000 = 10⁶
kilo- = 1 000 = 10³
centi- = 0.01 = 10^-²
milli- = 0.001 = 10^-³
micro- = 0.000 001 = 10^-⁶
nano- = 0.000 000 001 = 10^-⁹
You can also write a negative exponent as a fraction with a positive exponent in the denominator:

Mar 11, 2023

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