Unit 6 Roots
| Root Word | Definition |
|---|---|
| acous acusis |
hearing |
| aden | gland |
| aer | air |
| ambly | blunted |
| ambul | moving around |
| ampulla | flask with long, narrow neck |
| aneurysm[os] | dilation of an artery |
| angio | vessel |
| anxio | anxiety |
| arachn[id] | spider |
| arter arterio |
artery |
| asthen | weakness |
| athero | encysted tumor |
| audio | sound |
| audit | hearing |
| aur | sound |
| aut[os] | self |
| axo[n] axon |
nerve cell structure that carries a signal over a long distance |
| basi[s] | base (of the midbrain) |
| blephar/o | eyelid |
| brain | brain |
| cataract | cloudiness ("waterfall") |
| caud[a] | tail |
| central [sulcus] | in the center |
| cephal/o | pertaining to the head |
| cereb cerebr/o |
brain |
| chemo | chemical |
| chor[ion] | membrane (resembling the one surrounding the fetus) |
| clonus | violent shaking |
| cochlea | snail's shell |
| conjunctiva | joining (the eyelids and globe of the eye) |
| convuls[e] | jerking movement |
| corn[u] | horn |
| cortex cortico |
outside of a multilayered structure ("bark of a tree") |
| cran/i/o | head; skull |
| cycl/o | circle; in this case, the ciliary body which forms a circle around the inside of the eye |
| cysticercus | larval stage of some tapeworms |
| cyst/o | fluid-filled space |
| dacry/o | tear (drop) |
| decussate | make a shape like the letter X |
| dendr/o | tree |
| depress | push down |
| derm/a derm/at |
skin |
| duct | pipe |
| dura | tough |
| ectasis | dilation |
| edema | swelling |
| electro | related to electricity |
| embol | arterial blockage ("peg, stopper") |
| emulsion | mixture with large particle sizes |
| encephal/o | brain (literally, inside the head) |
| ependyma | lining of the ventricles |
| esthes | feeling |
| exter[i]o[r] | outside |
| externa | outside |
| fascia | sheet of fibers; bundle of stick-like structures |
| fer[re] | carry; move |
| front | front |
| gangl gangl/i |
cluster of nerve cell bodies |
| geminus | twins |
| gen | birth (dealing with inheritance) |
| glaucoma | increased pressure in eye |
| glia gli/o |
glue |
| glosso | tongue |
| glyc/o | sugar |
| gnos | knowing |
| gustat[e] | taste |
| gyrus | elevation or bump on the brain (from the Greek word for "ring, circle" |
| [h]em[e] hem heme hemo hemat |
blood |
| homunculus | "little man"; map of the body on the brain surface |
| hydro | water |
| hypno | sleep |
| ictus | seizure; sudden, unexpected illness |
| idios | self |
| insula | island |
| ir[is] irid[es] irido |
iris (plural irides) |
| isch | keep back (shortening of Greek iskhein) |
| kerat/o | horn |
| kine/t | movement |
| labyrinth | maze |
| lacrim | crying; tears |
| laryng/o | voice box |
| leps[is] | seizure; grasp |
| lex[is] | reading |
| ligand | signaling molecule or drug that binds a receptor |
| lir[a] | staying on track (literally, "furrow") |
| lith | stone |
| lob lobo |
large region of the brain; roundish structure |
| lymph | here, the fluid inside the inner ear chambers |
| mechano | mechanical |
| medulla | inside of a multilayered structure ("marrow") |
| mening meningi meningo |
coverings of the brain |
| mens ment |
mind |
| metr | measurement |
| motor | movement |
| my[ein] | pupil constriction |
| myc | fungus |
| mydriasis | pupil dilation |
| myel/o | spinal cord |
| myo | muscle |
| myring/o | eardrum |
| narco | sleep |
| nas/o | nose |
| neur/o | nervous system |
| noci | harmful; noxious |
| nom | name |
| nucle | the center of something |
| nystagmus | nodding or jerking back-and-forth |
| occipit | back of the head |
| ocul/o | eye |
| op ops opt/o |
eye; vision |
| ophthalm/o | eye; vision |
| orexis | desire |
| osmē | smell |
| oste/o | bone |
| ot/o | ear |
| propagate | reproduce; breed |
| papilla | nipple |
| paresis | weakness |
| pariet | side of the head |
| path[os] | feeling |
| phac/o phak |
lens |
| pharmaco | pertaining to drugs |
| phas | speaking |
| phon | sound |
| phor | carrier |
| phot/o | light |
| phren | skull; mind |
| physi | function |
| plas | something molded |
| pleg | stroke; weakness |
| plex | woven |
| pol[e] polar |
one end of a round object, as in North Pole & South Pole |
| polio | degeneration of myelin |
| presby | elder; old person |
| propri[us] | understanding of one's own body position |
| prosop | face |
| pseudo | false |
| psych/o | mind |
| py/o | pus |
| [re]ceptor receptor |
a protein on the surface of a cell that turns a chemical on the outside to a signal on the inside of the cell |
| retin/a retin/o |
net; the receptive surface of the eye |
| rhin/o | nose |
| saccule | small sac |
| salping/o | tube (e.g. Eustachian tube; Fallopian tube) |
| sciatic | nerve of the buttocks and thigh |
| scler/a scler/o |
hard (white of the eye) |
| scot | darkness; blindness |
| soma | body |
| somn/o | sleep; drowsiness |
| sono | sound |
| spin[e] | spinal column |
| stigma | wound; point |
| stimulus | something which initiates an action |
| sulcus | groove in the brain |
| synapse | contact between a nerve cell and its target |
| syncope | fainting |
| tempor | side of the head around the ear |
| therm/o | temperature |
| thromb/o | clot |
| tinnitus | jingling or ringing noise |
| tox | poison |
| transmit | carry along |
| trop | turning toward |
| tympan/o | eardrum |
| utricle | bag |
| varicos[e] | dilation; enlargement |
| vascul | little vessel |
| vertigo | spinning sensation |
| vestibul/o | inner ear structures controlling balance |
| vitr/e | glass |
