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) |
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 |