Unit 8 Roots
| Root Word | Definition |
|---|---|
| abdomin | belly |
| ability | capacity to do something |
| adapt | change |
| aden aden/o |
gland |
| albumin | protein found in egg white; major blood protein |
| amine | chemical group containing nitrogen |
| aneurysm | dilation of an artery |
| ang ang/i ang/i/o |
vessel |
| angina | chest pain |
| aort aort/o |
the large vessel leading from the heart |
| apex | the highest point |
| apheresis | separation of blood components |
| append | hanging upon, used in the name of the vermiform ("wormlike") appendix, usually shortened to "appendix" |
| arrest | to stop |
| arter arter/i arter/i/o |
artery |
| ather ather/o |
plaque in an artery |
| atri atrio atrium |
the chamber of the heart where blood first enters (by analogy to the atrium of a Roman villa) |
| axilla | armpit |
| baso | a chemical which accepts a hydrogen ion |
| bili | bile |
| body | protein molecule |
| brach brach/i brach/io |
arm (thanks, Jay!) |
| capill[us] | small blood vessel |
| card card/i card/i/o |
heart |
| catheter | tube used to gain access to the urethra or a blood vessel |
| cava | cave |
| cephal | head |
| chol | bile |
| chordæ tendineæ | cords (strings) + tendon |
| circula | going around in a circle |
| circum | going around |
| clav[icula] | clavicle |
| clon[e] | exact (genetically identical) copy of a cell or organism |
| coagul coagul/a coagul/o |
clot |
| compatible | getting along with |
| competent | capable of doing something |
| compromise | weaken (in this context) |
| concave | bent inward |
| conduct | carry electricity |
| congest | accumulation of material |
| constric constrict |
make an opening smaller |
| continu | ongoing |
| contract | make a muscle shorter |
| coron | like a crown; blood vessels which encircle the heart |
| crit | judge; measure to analyze |
| cuspid | pointed end (as of a tooth or a heart valve) |
| cyan | blue |
| cyt cyte cyt/o |
cell |
| diastole | relaxation phase of the heart cycle |
| dilate | to make an opening larger |
| diuresis diuret |
excessive urine production |
| duct | tube |
| echo | return of sound waves |
| edema | excessive fluid production |
| effusion | pouring out of |
| electr/o | pertaining to the flow of electrical charges |
| ellipto | shaped like an oval |
| embol embolus |
arterial blockage |
| enzyme | protein that speeds up chemical reactions in the cell |
| eosin/o | red stain used to visualize structures in cells; also referred to as acid |
| erythro | red |
| esophag | esophagus (tube from the mouth to the stomach) |
| externa | outermost |
| extrinsic | outside of |
| femor femur |
thigh |
| fenestra | window |
| fibr fibre |
fiber |
| fibrill | fluttering; rapid beating |
| flex | bend |
| fusion | joining together |
| gest | carrying (a baby) |
| glob | glob |
| glycer | sugar |
| granule granul/o |
particle; microscopic cell structures that resemble small grains of sand |
| gurgita[re] | flood |
| hapten | molecule that fastens other molecules together |
| hem hem/at hem/at/o hem/o |
blood |
| hepat/o | liver |
| hist hist/o |
tissue |
| hydr/o | water |
| ilia | flank |
| immun immun/o |
defensive system of the body which protects against foreign invaders |
| inflamma | literally, "on fire"; the body's non-specific response to real or perceived invasion |
| inguin | groin |
| innate | something that one knows already; not learned |
| intercalate | inserted between |
| interstit interstit/i |
the space between |
| intima | innermost |
| intrinsic | internal; built-in |
| jugul | referring to the collarbone & neck |
| kary/o | nucleus of the cell |
| kine | movement or action |
| lapar/o | belly; abdomen |
| laps[e] | fall forward |
| leuk leuk/o |
white |
| lith | stone |
| lunar | shaped like the moon |
| lymph lymph/o |
vessels that drain fluid from around the cells |
| macro | large |
| mandibul | jawbone |
| mano | pressure |
| margin | edge; border |
| media | middle |
| mediastinum | cavity that encloses the heart, the major vessels of the heart, and the thymus |
| mitr[a] | a type of hat, with a crease in the center, worn by Roman Catholic bishops; the mitral valve is named for its resemblance to this hat |
| murmur | rumbling sound |
| myel myel/o |
marrow (in this context, bone marrow) |
| myo | muscle |
| nephr/o | kidney |
| neutr/o | neither acid nor base; referring to Wright's stain for blood cells which uses hematoxylin (base) and eosin (acid) |
| nitr/o | chemical group containing nitrogen |
| norm/o | normal |
| nucl/e | the cell nucleus |
| opson[in] | a substance that makes bacteria more susceptible to immune attack |
| oxygen | a chemical element necessary for cell metabolism |
| palpita | trembling or quivering |
| pector | chest |
| perfor[ate] | poke holes in |
| perfu | flood throughout |
| petechia | small, red spots on the skin |
| phage phago |
eat |
| phil | love |
| phleb phleb/o |
vein |
| phoresis | movement of particles |
| phylaxis | protection; safeguard |
| placenta | shared organ between a mother and a fetus |
| plasm plasm/a |
liquid part of the blood, including clotting factors |
| plast | mold or shape (compare the suffix –plasty, meaning surgical alteration) |
| plat | flat |
| platelet | the cell fragment responsible for blood clotting; "little flat thing"; same as thrombocyte |
| poikilo | taking on many different shapes |
| poplite[us] | inside of the knee |
| potent | the power to do something; in this context, the ability to make a particular cell type |
| pressure | the force exerted by a liquid or gas on the walls of a vessel |
| pulmon | lung |
| 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 |
| reticulo | like a little net |
| rhythm rrhythm |
having a regular beat |
| rub | red |
| scler | hard |
| sept sept/o |
wall separating two cavities |
| septic | filled with microorganisms |
| serum | fluid portion of blood with clotting components removed (e.g., the yellow fluid that exudes from a scraped knee after clotting has occurred) |
| sin sin/o |
open space |
| spasm | involuntary contraction |
| sphero | sphere |
| sphygmo | pulse |
| spleen splen splen/o |
spleen |
| stasis static |
standing still |
| sten | blockage |
| steroid | lipid signaling molecule based on cholesterol |
| stom | mouth |
| striat[us] | having stripes |
| restrict | restrict, bind, draw together, hold back |
| suscita | give life to |
| systole | contraction phase of the heart cycle |
| tamponade | plug up; smash into |
| tens | stretched |
| thorac | chest |
| thromb thromb/o |
clot |
| thym thym/o |
thymus |
| titer | amount of an antibody needed to have a desired effect |
| ton | strength; tone |
| tonsil tonsil/l |
organs that trap and kill germs in the throat |
| tope | place |
| tox | poison |
| troph | nourishment, growth |
| tunica | tunic, coat |
| umbilic[us] | cord connecting the placenta to the baby |
| vagus | the nerve that innervates many thoracic and abdominal organs |
| valv valv/o valvul valvul/o |
valve |
| varic varic/o |
dilated vein |
| vas/o | vessel, tube, duct |
| vascul | little vessel |
| vegeta | growth |
| vein ven vena ven/o |
vein |
| ventr ventric/ul ventric/ulo |
diminutive of ventrum, "belly"; so "little belly" |
| ver | turn |
| vol | volume |
| zygon | yoked, paired |
