Unit 4 Roots
Dermatologists use a lot of color and appearance terms to describe skin. Many of these roots, then, describe the color or appearance of skin.
| Root Word | Definition |
|---|---|
| abrasion | scraping off skin |
| acne | skin eruption |
| actin | ray, beam |
| aden | gland |
| adip/o | fat |
| albin/o | the color white |
| alopec | bald |
| amine | chemical group containing nitrogen |
| andro | male |
| angi/o | vessel |
| bili | bile |
| carcin | cancer |
| carot | carrot; the color orange |
| cauter[ium] | device used to burn |
| cer/at | horn |
| cicatrix | scar |
| circ | a ring; circle |
| cision | cut |
| comedo | zit |
| cori/a | leather; skin |
| corn | horn |
| crine | secretion; release from cells or from the body |
| crust | crust; rind |
| crypt | hidden; concealed |
| cub | lie down |
| cutan/e/o | skin |
| cyan | the color blue |
| cyt cyte cyto |
cell |
| dendr/o | tree |
| derm/at/o | skin |
| desicc | dry |
| ecchymosis | bleeding under the skin |
| electr/o | related to electricity |
| erosion | "gnawing away" |
| erythr/o | the color red |
| esthe | sensation; perception |
| fibr/o | fiber |
| fissure | deep crack |
| gen geno genet |
birth (dealing with inheritance) |
| glabr | smooth |
| graft | transfer of tissue from one place to another |
| gran | grain |
| hem hemo hemat hemato |
blood |
| hidr hidra hidro |
sweat |
| hist/o | tissue |
| ichthy | fish |
| impetigo | skin eruption |
| incision | cut |
| jaun | the color yellow |
| kel | claw |
| kerat/o | horn |
| leuk/o | the color white |
| lip/o | fat |
| lith | stone |
| lun | moon |
| macer | soften |
| melan/o | the color black |
| myc/o | fungus |
| myring/o | eardrum |
| necr | dead |
| nevus | mole |
| nidus | nest |
| nod[e] | knot |
| onych/o | nail; "little claw" |
| ops | seeing; appearance |
| pachy | thick |
| pap papilla |
nipple |
| permeable | able to be penetrated |
| petechia | small, red spots on the skin |
| pheo | gray or dark in color |
| pigment | coloring agent |
| pil/o | hair |
| plaque | sticky deposit |
| plas[tic] | something molded |
| prur[is] | itch |
| pruritic | something which causes an itch |
| psōra | itch |
| ras | scrape |
| regulat[e] | control or maintain |
| rhino | nose |
| rhytid/o | wrinkle |
| rub | red |
| scale | scale |
| scess | going |
| scler/o | hard |
| seb seba sebo sebum |
a waxy secretion from a skin gland |
| sens | sensation; perception |
| septic | filled with microorganisms |
| sicc | dry |
| some | body |
| squam | a shape wider than it is high (literally, "fish-scale") |
| steat/o | fatty |
| suction | using negative pressure |
| surgery | using tools to alter the structure of the body |
| sweat | perspiration |
| tect | roof |
| therapy | treatment to make something better |
| thermo | temperature |
| tinea | fungal infection |
| top | place |
| trich/o | hair |
| tumor | swelling |
| unguent | ointment; grease |
| urtica | nettle, stinger |
| vapora[te] | steam |
| vascul | little vessel |
| verruca | wart |
| vesic | bladder |
| vitiligo | skin disease |
| vulgaris | common |
| xanth/o | yellow |
| xer/o | dry |
| zein | boil |
