Understand the proper veterinary terminology to accurately describe and record medical conditions Objective 1.01
Veterinary Medical Terminology Based on Latin and Greek words Material taken from Veterinary Assisting: Fundamentals and Applications chapter 1
Dissecting a Term Dissect or separated them to define their meanings Prefix is at the beginning of the word Root word gives the team its essential meaning. A term may have more than one root word. Suffix is at the end of the word Combining vowel allows for certain terms to be pronounced more easily. Usually the letter o but can be any vowel. Common Root Words
Root Arthr/o- Cardi/o- Chem/o- Col/o- Cutane/o- Cyst/o- Dent/o- Electr/o- Enter/o- Gastr/o- Hem/o- Hepat/o- Hyster/o- Lapar/o- Meaning Joint Heart Chemical Colon Skin Urinary bladder Teeth Electricity Intestines Stomach Blood Liver Uterus Abdomen
Mast- Nas/o- Nephr/o- Oste/o- Ovari/o- Radi/o- Rect/o- Rhin/o- Urin/o- Uter/o- Mammary gland Nose Kidneys Bone Ovary Radiation Rectum Nose Urine Uterus
Suffixes Meaning Pertaining To Suffix Term Meaning -ac Cardiac Pertaining to the heart -al Renal Pertaining to the kidney -an Ovarian Pertaining to the ovary -ar Lumbar Pertaining to the loin or lower back -ary Alimentary Pertaining to the gastrointestinal tract -eal Laryngeal Pertaining to the larynx -ic Enteric Pertaining to the intestines -ine Uterine Pertaining to the uterus -ous Cutaneous Pertaining to the skin -tic Nephrotic Pertaining to the kidneys
Common Prefixes Prefix Meaning Example Definition a- or an- Without; no Anemia Without or no blood cell production Ab- Away from Abduction Away from the center o the body Ad- Toward Adduction Toward the center of the body Anti- Against; to stop Anticoagulant Medicine used to stop bleeding Dys- Difficult; painful Dysuria Difficult or painful urination Ecto- Outside Ectoskeleton Bones located outside the body Endo- Within, inside Endothermic Body temperature controlled within the body Exo- Outside Exothermic Body temperature controlled outside of the body Hyper- Above normal Hyperglycemia High blood sugar Hypo- Below normal Hypoglycemia Low blood sugar
Common Prefixes Continued Inter- Between Interdigital Between the toes Intra- Within Intramuscular Within the muscles Oligo- Very little Oliguria Very little urine production Peri- Around Perioperative Around or during the surgery Poly- Many, excessive Polyuria Excessive urine production Post- After Postoperative After the surgery Pre- Before Preanesthetic Before anesthesia Sub- Below Subcutaneous Below the skin Super- Above Superimposed Above the surface
Common Suffixes Suffix Meaning Example Definition -centesis Surgical puncture into Cystocentesis Surgical puncture with a needle into the urinary bladder -ectomy Surgical removal of Ovariohysterectomy Surgical removal of the ovaries and uterus -emia Blood Hypocalcemia Low blood calcium -gram A record of Electrocardiogram A record of the electrical activity of the heart -graph To record with an instrument Radiograph A record made using radiation; x-ray -graphy The act of recording using an instrument Radiography The act of taking a picture using radiation -itis Inflammation Colitis Inflammation of the colon -logy The study of Histology The study of tissues -lysis To break down Urinalysis The breakdown of urine into parts -megaly Enlargement of Cardiomegaly Enlargement of the heart -osis Condition Osteoporosis Condition of bone loss
Common Suffixes Continued -pathy Disease Cardiopathy Heart disease -pexy To suture to Gastropexy To suture to the stomach -plasty To surgically repair Rhinoplasty Surgical repair of the nose -rrhage- To burst Hemorrhage The bursting of the blood; bleeding -rrhea- To flow Diarrhea The flow of feces -scope Instrument used to view Microscope Instrument used to view small items -scopy The act of using an instrument for viewing Endoscopy The act of using a scope to view the inside of the body -stomy To create a new surgical opening Cystostomy To create a new surgical opening in the urinary bladder -therapy Treatment Chemotherapy Treatment of chemicals -tomy To cut into surgically; to make an incision Cystotomy To make an incision into the urinary bladder
Putting it all together When dissecting a term use a slash mark to divide the term Examples: arthr/itis inflammation of the joint cardio/logy the study of the heart cardio/megaly enlargement of the heart
Common Directional Terms Term Aspect Caudal Cranial Distal Dorsal Lateral Medial Palmar Plantar Proximal Recumbency Recumbent Rostral Traverse Meaning Area Toward the tail Toward the head Away from the center of the body Toward the back area Side of the body; toward the outside Inside of an area; toward the inside The bottom of the front feet The bottom of the rear feet Closer to the center of the body Lying in position Lying Toward the nose Across an area dividing it into cranial and caudal sections Ventral Toward the abdomen or belly area
Veterinary Terms and Abbreviations Species Terms Amphibian- frog/toad Avian- bird Bovine- cow Canine- dog Caprine- goat Cavy- guinea pig Equine- horse Feline- cat Lagomorph- rabbit Murine- rat or mouse Ovine- sheep Porcine- pig or swine Poultry- chicken and turkey Primate- monkey and ape Reptile- snake and lizard Terrapin- turtle
Term Bitch Litter Puppy Stud dog Whelping Kitten Tom Queen Queening Buck Doe Kindling Kit Lapin Gib Hob Jill Sprite Boar Pup Sow Dam Definition Intact female dog Group of newborn dogs Young dog Intact male dog The labor process of dogs Young cat Intact male cat; male turkey Intact female cat The labor process of cats Male rabbit; male goat; male deer Female rabbit; female goat; female deer Labor process of rabbits and ferrets Young rabbit; young ferret Neutered male rabbit Neutered male ferret Intact male ferret Intact female ferret Neutered female ferret Male guinea pig; male pig Young guinea pig; young mouse; young rat; young dog Female guinea pig; female pig Female rat; female mouse; term for a female parent that is breeding
Sire Male rat; male mouse; term for a male parent that is breeding Chick Cock Flock Young parrot; young chicken Male parrot; male chicken Group of birds; group of chickens, turkeys or ducks Hen Clutch Poult Capon Cockerel Pullet Rooster Drake Duck Duckling Barrow Female parrot; female chicken; female turkey Group of eggs Young turkey; young chicken Young castrated male chicken Immature male chicken Immature female chicken Male chicken Male duck Female duck Young duck Young castrated male pig
Term Farrowing Gilt Piglet Stag Colt Filly Foal Gelding Hand Herd Horse Mare Pony Stallion Weanling Yearling Donkey Hinny Jack Jenny Mule Ewe Definition Labor process of swine Young female pig that has not farrowed Young pig Male pig castrated after maturity Young male horse Young female horse Young male or female horse Castrated male horse; castrated male llama The measurement of a horse equal to 4 inches Group of horses Horse over 14.2 hands in height Intact female horse Horse under 14.2 hands Intact adult male horse Young horse under a year of age Young horse between the ages of 1 and 2 years Donkey crossed with a donkey Cross of a male horse and a female donkey Intact male donkey Intact female donkey Cross of a male donkey and a female horse Intact female sheep
Lamb Lambing Ram Wether Young sheep Labor process of sheep Intact male sheep Castrated male sheep; castrated male goat Freshening Labor process of dairy-producing animals Kid Kidding Bull Young goat Labor process of goats Intact male cow; intact male llama Cow Intact female cow; intact female llama Cria Calf Calving Heifer Young llama Young cow Labor process of cows Young female cow that has not been bred Stag Steer Mature castrated male cow Young castrated male cow
Common Veterinary Abbreviations C or cast- castrated C-sect- C-section or caesarian section d- day d/c-discharge DLH- domestic long hair (cat) DSH- domestic short hair (cat) d/o-drop off EX-exotic F- female K-9-dog or canine M-male Mo-month NM-neutered male o-owner p/u-pick up rec-recommend S or SF- spayed or spayed female S/R- suture removal Sx- surgery Wk-week Y or yr- year
Terms related to Patient History Anorexia- not eating or decreased appetite BM- bowel movement D- diarrhea Dysuria-difficulty or trouble with urination Dz- disease HBC- hit by car Hematuria- blood in the urine Hx- history Lethargic-tired or inactive PD-polydipsia (increased thirst) PU-polyuria (increased urination) U-urine V-vomiting V/D-vomiting and diarrhea
Terms Related to Physical Examination Acute-short term Anals or AG- anal glands BAR- bright, alert, responsive CHRONIC- long term CRT- capillary refill time Dx- diagnosis FeLV- feline leukemia virus FIP- feline infectious peritonitis FIV- feline immunodeficiency virus HR- heart rate L- left LN- lymph node mm- mucous membranes N or [-] negative NR- nothing reported
Terms Related to Physical Examination NSF- no signs found PE- physical exam Px- prognosis QAR- quiet, alert, responsive R- right RR- respiratory rate Rx- prescription SOAP- Subjective, Objective, Assessment, Plan TPR- temperature, pulse, respiration Tx- treatment URI- upper respiratory infection UTI- urinary tract infection WNL- within normal limits Wt- weight + positive
Laboratory Terms and Abbreviations Bx- biopsy CBC- complete blood count CHEM- blood chemistry panel C/S or C&S- culture and sensitivity Cysto- cystocentesis Fecal- fecal or stool sample HW- heart worm PCV- packed cell volume T4- thyroid test UA- urinalysis
Pharmacy Terms and Abbreviations BID- twice a day Cap- capsule cc- cubic centimeter d- day EOD- every other day h- hour kg- kilogram mg- milligram ml- milliliter NPO- nothing by mouth
Pharmacy Terms and Abbreviations oz- ounces PO- by mouth prn- refill as needed (per required need) q-every qd-every day QID- four times a day Rx- prescription SID- once a day Tab- tablet
Pharmacy Terms and Abbreviations TID- three times a day w-week / -per # or lb- pound #- number of tablets to dispense
Eyes and Ears AD- right ear AS- left ear AU- both ears OD- right eye OS-left eye OU- both eyes
Routes of Medical Administration Adm.- administer IC- intracardiac (into the heart) ID- intradermal (within the layers of skin) IM- intramuscular (into the muscle) IN-intranasal (into the nasal cavity) IO- intraosesous (into the bone) IP- intraperitoneal (into the peritoneum or lining of the abdomen) IT- intratracheal (into the trachea or windpipe) IV- intravenous (into the vein) PO- by mouth or orally SQ or SUB-Q- subcutaneous (under the skin)
Association Abbreviations AAHA- American Animal Hospital Association AVMA- American Veterinary Medical Association NAVTA- National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America TVMA- Texas Veterinary Medical Association OFA- Orthopedic Foundation of America