Veterinary Terms

The most common word structures seen in veterinary practice are listed in the charts below:

Prefix	Meaning	Example	Literal Translation	Actual Definition
a-, ab-, abs	No, not	Agalactia	Condition of no milk	Partial or complete absence of milk flow in the absence of mammary gland disease
Ad-	Toward, near	Adduct	To draw toward the median	Movement towards the median or central line
Amb-, ambi-	Both	Ambidextrous	Both right	Having the ability to work effectively with either hand
Amphi-	On both sides	Amphiarthrosis	Joined on both sides	Joint which surfaces are connected by fibrocartilage (allows very little movement)
An-	No, not	Anemia	Without blood	Decreased number of red blood cells (erythrocytes) or the amount of hemoglobin in the erythrocytes
Ant-, anti-	Against	Antibiotic	Against life	Destructive of life
Auto-	Self	Autonomic	Pertaining to ones nerves	(Neurologically) – not subject to voluntary control
Ana-	Up, apart	Anatomy	Process of cutting apart	The science dealing with the form and structure of living organisms
Bili-	Pertaining to bile	Biliary	Pertaining to the bile	Pertaining to the bile, bile ducts, or gall bladder
Brady-	Slow	Bradycardic	Slow heart	A slow heart rhythm
Broncho-	Relating to bronchi	Bronchiole	Small bronchi	The very small branches of the bronchi
Cardi-, cardio-	Relating to the heart	Cardiac	Pertaining to the heart	Pertaining to the heart
Cervico-	Relating to the neck	Cervical	Pertaining to the cervical region	Pertaining to the cervical region
Circa	About	Circadian	About the day	A daily rhythm or daily occurrence
Circum	Around	Circumference	Around the outside	Measurement around the outside of a structure
Co-	Work together	Coagulant	Work together to form clot	To cause a clot
Con-	Together with	Concussion	Together with blow	Violent jar or shock that results in severe injury
Contra-	Against, proposed	Contralateral	Against the side	Pertaining to, situated on, or affecting the opposite side
Di-	Twice	Diarticular	Two joints	Pertaining to two joints
Dia-	Through, complete	Diagnose	Knowledge of a condition	To identify or recognize a disease
Dialy-	To separate	Dialysis	To separate break apart	Process of separating components of a fluid and maintain viability
En-	Inward	Encephalic	In the head	Pertaining to the brain; within the skull
Endo-	Within, inner	Endocrine	Secrete within	Pertaining to internal secretions
Epi-	Above	Epidermis	Pertaining to the skin above	The outer layer of skin
Ex-	Out	Excise	To cut out	To remove by cutting
Exo-	Outside of, outward	Exogenous	Pertaining to outward production	Originating outside or caused by factors outside the organism
Extra-	Outside of; in addition to	Extra-label	Outside of the label	Use of a drug in a way or for a purpose not specified on the label
Fibro-	Relating to fibers	Fibrosarcoma	Fiber cancer	Sarcoma made of fibrous tissue
Gaster-, gastr-, gastro-	Pertaining to the stomach	Gastrotomy	Cut in the stomach	Surgical incision into the stomach
Hemi-	Half	Hemilaminectomy	Removal of half the lamina	Removal of a vertebral lamina on one side only
Hemo-	Relating to the blood	Hemogram	Blood report/graph	Report of the blood parameters
Hepat-, hepatico-, hepato-	Pertaining to the liver	Hepatic	Pertaining to the liver	Pertaining to the liver
Homeo-	Denoting likeness or resemblance	Homeopathy	The study of like diseases	Study of treating disease in a sick animal with drugs capable of producing the same response in a healthy animal
Homo-	Same, similar	Homogeneous	Generated the same	Of uniform quality, composition or structure
Hyal-	Clear, transparent	Hyaline	Clear, transparent	Pertaining to a clear/transparent appearance of a cast or membrane
Hyper-	Excessive, above	Hypertrophic	Pertaining to excessive food	Increase in volume of a tissue or organ produced entirely by enlargement of existing cells (over nourishment)
Hypo-	Below, deficient	Hypothyroid	Deficient thyroid	Deficient thyroid gland activity
Idio-	Relationship to one's self or something separate and distinct	Idiopathic	Pertaining to a disease	Pertaining to a disease with an unknown origin
In-	Not, in, inside, within	Ingesta	Material within	Material taken into the body by mouth
Infra-	Below	Infraorbital	Pertaining to below the eye	Pertaining to below the eye
Intra-	Within	Intrauterine	Within the uterus	Within the uterus
Iso-	Equal, alike	Isometric	Equal measure	Equal measure
Karyo-	Relating to a cell's nucleus	Karyocyte	Nucleated cell	Nucleated cell
Laryngo-	Pertaining to the larynx	Laryngospasm	Spasm of the larynx	Spasmodic closure of the larynx (seen in cats)
Medi-	Middle	Mediastinum	Middle of the sternum	The membranes that separate the thorax into right and left at the sternum and vertebral column
Myelo-	Pertaining to the spinal cord or bone marrow	Myelogram	A record of the spinal cord	Injection of a dye into the space around the spinal column to produce a specific image on a radiograph
Ovari-, ovario-	Pertaining to the ovary	Ovariohysterectomy	Removal of the ovaries and uterus	Surgical removal of the ovaries and uterus
Omni-	All	Omnivore	One that eats all	Animal that eats both plants and meat (i.e. dog)
Peri-	Surrounding, around	Perivascular	Pertaining to around a vessel	Around a vessel
Post-	Behind, after	Postsurgical	After surgery	After surgery
Pre-, Pro-	Before, in front of, favoring	Prognathism	Condition before the jaw	Abnormal protrusion of one or both jaws, especially the lower one
Pseudo-	False	Pseudopregnancy	False pregnancy	False pregnancy
Re-	Back	Recheck	Check back	Re-examination of a patient
Retro-	Behind	Retrograde	Going backward	Going backward
Semi-	Half	Semicircular	Half circle	Half circle
Steato-	Fatty	Steatitis	Fat inflammation	Inflammation of fatty tissue
Sub-	Under, near	Submandibular	Under the mandible	Under the mandible
Syn-	Joined together	Synarthrosis	Joint joined together	Essentially a fused joint (skull suture)
Trans-	Across, through, beyond	Transplacental	Across the placenta	Through the placenta
Un-	Not, reversal	Unconscious	Not conscious	Not conscious

Suffix	Meaning	Example	Literal Translation	Actual Definition
-able, -ible, -ble	The power to be	Palpable	The power to feel	Able to feel something
-ac	Pertaining to	Cardiac	Pertaining to the heart	Pertaining to the heart
-al	Pertaining to	Neural	Pertaining to a nerve or nerves	Pertaining to a nerve or nerves
-algia	Pain	Arthralgia	Pain of the joint	Pain in a joint
-ase	Forms the name of an enzyme	Asparaginase	Enzyme	Enzyme that catalyzes the deamination of asparagine
-blast	Designates a cell or structure	Myeloblast	Bone marrow cell	Immature cell of the bone marrow
-cele	Denoting a swelling	Sialocele	Swelling of the salivary gland	Swelling of the salivary gland
-centesis	Denoting a puncture	Cystocentesis	Puncture of a cyst	Commonly known as a needle aspirate of bladder contents
-cyte	Cell	Erythrocyte	Red blood cell	Red blood cell
-ectomy	Excision	Lumpectomy	Excision of a lump	Excision of a lump
-emia	Blood condition	Lipemia	Fat in the blood	An excess of lipids in the blood
-esthesia	Denoting sensation	Anesthesia	Without sensation	Without sensation
-gene, -genesis, -genetic, -genic	Denoting production, origin	Angiogenesis	Blood vessel origin	The development of blood vessels
-gram	A tracing, a mark	Echocardiogram	Echo tracing of the heart	The record produced by sound wave examination of the heart
-graph	A writing, a record	Electrocardiograph	Record of electrocardiogram	The record produced by electrical tracings of the heart
-ia	Condition	Leukopenia	Decreased white blood cells	Reduction of the number of leukocytes (white blood cells) in the blood
-iasis	Denoting a condition or pathologic state	Atelectasis	Condition of collapsed lung	Collapsed or airless lung tissue
-ic	Pertaining to	Gastric	Pertaining to the stomach	Pertaining to, affecting, or originating in the stomach
-ist	One who specializes in	Nephrologist	Person specializing in kidneys	Veterinarian specializing in the study of kidneys
-itis	Inflammation	Pancreatitis	Inflammation of the pancreas	Inflammation of the pancreas
-logy	Process of study	Zoology	The study of animals	The biological study of animals
-oid	Denoting form or resemblance	Opiod	Like an opiate	Synthetic narcotic that acts like an opiate
-oma	Tumor, mass	Hematoma	Mass of blood	A localized collection of extravasated blood, usually clotted, in an organ, space, or tissue
-opsy	Process of viewing	Necropsy	Viewing of a deceased body	Examination of a body after death. The term used for animals, synonymous with autopsy (for humans)
-osis	Abnormal condition	Proptosis	Abnormal forward placement of the eye	Eyeball is either pushed forward in the eye socket or is partially out of the socket.
-ostomosis, -ostomy, -stomy	To furnish with an opening or mouth	Gastrostomy	Opening the stomach	Surgical opening of the stomach
-plasty	Denoting molding or shaping	Rhinoplasty	Shaping the nose	Surgical shaping of the nose
-rhagia, -rhagic	Denoting discharge, usually bleeding	Hemorrhagic	Bloody discharge	Bloody discharge
-rhaphy	Meaning suturing or stitching	Gastrorhaphy	Surgical repair of the stomach by suture	Surgical repair of the stomach by suture
-rhea	Meaning a flow or discharge	Diarrhea	Rapid flow of fecal matter	Rapid flow of fecal matter
-scope	Instrument to visually examine	Endoscope	Instrument used to view something within	Instrument used to view the inside of the gastrointestinal tract, or within another organ.
-scopy	Process of visually examining	Gastroscopy	Visual examination of the gastrointestinal tract	Visual examination of the gastrointestinal tract
-sis	State of condition	Prognosis	Forethought of knowledge	A forecast of the probable course of a patients condition/disease
-tome, -tomy	Instrument to cut, process of cutting	Osteotome	Instrument that cuts bone	A chisel-like knife for cutting bone

Combining Forms:

Root	Meaning	Example	Definition of Example
Aer-, aero	Denoting gas	Aerophagic	Condition of gulping air, filling the stomach with air
Alge-, algesi-, algo-	Relating to pain	Analgesia	Without pain
Anomalo-	Denoting irregularity	Anomaly	An irregular finding
Arthro-	Relating to a joint or joints	Arthrodesis	Fusion of a joint
Brevi-	Short	Abbreviate	Very short, shortened
Celio-	Denoting the abdomen	Celiotomy	Incision into the abdomen
Chol-, chole-, cholo-	Relating to bile	Cholestasis	Stoppage of the bile flow
Chrom-, chromo-	Relating to color	Chromatophylic	Likes color (takes up stain well, i.e. cells)
Cranio-	Relating to the cranium of the skull	Craniotomy	A cut into the cranium
Cryano-, cryo-	Denoting cold	Cryosurgery	Surgery performed by freezing (with liquid nitrogen)
Crypt-	To hide, a pit	Tonsilar crypt	Pocket of skin where the tonsils sit
Cyano-	Dark blue	Cyanobacteria	Photosynthesizing bacteria esp. in water
Cyclo-	Pertaining to a cycle	Acyclic	Without a cycle
Cysto-	Relating to a sac or cyst	Cystotomy	Incision into a cyst (usually denoting the urinary bladder)
Cyto-	Denoting a cell	Cytology	The study of cells
Dacryo-	Pertaining to the lacrimal glands	Dacryosyrinx	Lacrimal duct
Dactylo-	Relating to digits	Polydactyly	Many digits (i.e. 6-toed cats)
Dent-, dento-, donto-	Relating to teeth	Dental	Pertaining to the teeth
Derma-, dermat-	Relating to the skin	Dermatophytosis	Condition of skin fungus
Desmo-	Relating to a bond or ligament	Desmitis	Inflammation of a ligament
Dextro-	Right	Dextroversion	Version of the right, (i.e. movement of eyes to the right)
Diplo-	Double, twofold	Diploid	Resembling a double or two of the same
Dorsi-, dorso-	Referring to the back	Dorsal	Pertaining toward the vertebral column
Duodeno-	Relating to the duodenum	Duodenoscopy	Observing the duodenum
Electro-	Relating to electricity	Electrocautery	Burning by electricity (or coagulating)
Encephalo-	Denoting the brain	Encephalitis	Inflammation of the brain
Entero-	Relating to the intestines	Enterotomy	Incision into the intestines
Eso-	Inward	Esophagus	Structure that brings the food inward
Facio-	Relating to the face	Facial	Pertaining to the face
Gero-, geronto-	Denoting old age	Geriatric	Pertaining to the aged
Gingiva-	Relating to the gingiva or gum	Gingivitis	Inflammation of the gingiva
Gloss-, glosso-	Relating to the tongue	Hypoglossal	Under the tongue
Gluco-	Denoting sweetness	Glucosuria	Glucose in the urine
Glyco-	Relating to sugar	Glycosuria	Glucose in the urine
Gnath-, gnatho-	Denoting the jaw	Prognathic	Having a protruding jaw
Hist-, histio-, histo-	Relating to a tissue	Histopathology	Microscopic examination of tissue for disease (what you do to a biopsy)
Hydr-, hydro-	Denoting water	Hydrocephalic	“water” on the brain (excessive fluid retention in the cranium)
Ileo-	Pertaining to the ileum	Ileocecal	The area where the ileum joins the cecum
Ipsi-	Meaning self	Ipsilateral	On the same side
Irido-	Relating to a colored circle	Iridiodialysis	Separation or loosening of the iris from its attachments
Iso-	Equal	Isometric	Measures the same
Jejuno-	Pertaining to the jejunum	Jejunostomy	Surgically created an opening in the jejunum
Kerato-	Relating to the cornea	KCS (Keratoconjunctivitis sicca)	(inflammation and drying of the cornea and conjunctiva
Labio-	Pertaining to the lips	Labial	Pertaining or toward the lips
Lacto-	Relating to milk	Agalactia	Not producing milk
Laparo-	Pertaining to the loin or flank	Laparoscopy	Visualization of the abdominal cavity
Latero-	Pertaining to the side	Lateral	Pertaining to the side
Leido-, leio-	Smooth	Leiomyosarcoma	Sarcoma of the smooth muscle
Leuk-, leuko-	Denoting deficiency of color	Leukocyte	“White” blood cell
Lip-, lipo-	Pertaining to fat	Lipoma	Fatty tumor
Litho-	Denoting a calculus	Urolith	Urinary stone
Macr-, macro-	Large, long	Macrocytic	Large cells
Masti, mastro-	Relating to the breast	Mastitis	Inflammation of the breast tissue
Meg-, mega-	Great, large	Splenomegaly	Enlarged spleen
Meningo-	Denoting membranes, covering the brain and spinal cord	Meningioma	Tumor of the spinal membranes
Micr-, micro-	Small in size or extent	Microscopic	Unable to be seen by the naked eye
Mono-	One	Monochrome	One color
Morpho-	Relating to form	Morphologic	Pertaining to the shape of something
Multi-	Many	Multipara	Many viable births (i.e. as in cats)
My-, myo-	Relating to muscle	Myotomy	Incision of a muscle
Myc-, mycet-	Denoting a fungus	Mycotic	Pertaining to fungus like appearance
Myringo-	Denoting tympani or the eardrum	Myringectomy	Excision of the eardrum
Myx-, myxo-	Pertaining to mucus	Myxovirus	Synonym for influenza virus (mucus virus)
Naso-	Relating to the nose	Nasopharyngeal	Pertaining to the area where the nose and pharynx meet
Necro-	Denoting death	Necrotic	Pertaining to dead tissue
Neo-	New	Neoplasm	New growth
Nephr-, nephro-	Denoting the kidney	Nephrotoxin	Toxic to the kidney
Normo-	Normal or usual	Normovolemia	Normal blood volume
Oculo-	Denoting the eye	Oculomotor	Nerve that controls eye movement
Onco-	Denoting a swelling or mass	Oncology	The study of masses
Onycho-	Relating to the nails	Onychectomy	Declaw (removal of toenail)
oo-	Denoting an egg	Oocyst	Egg cell
Opisth-, opistho-	Backward	Opisthotonos	A form of spasm in which the head and tail are bent dorsally and the abdomen bent ventrally
Ophthal-, opthalmo-	Pertaining to the eye	Ophthalmoscope	Instrument to examine the eye
Optico-	Relating to vision	Optical	Pertaining to the ability to see
Orchi-, orcho-	Relating to the testes	Orchiectomy	Removal of the testes
Oro-	Relating to the mouth	Oronasal	Where the mouth meets the nasal passages
Ortho-	Straight, right	Orthopedic	Practice of correct function of the skeletal system
Osteo-	Relating to the bones	Osteoporosis	Pathological loss of bone
Ot-, oto-	Denoting an ear	Otoscopy	Visual exam of the ear
Patho-	Denoting disease	Pathology	The study of disease
Pedia-, pedo-	Denoting a child or young	Pediatrics	Pertaining to the study of the young/child
Perineo-	Combining form for the region between the anus and scrotum or vulva	Perineum	The region between the anus and scrotum or vulva
Phago-	Denoting a relationship to eating	Phagocytosis	The “eating” of cells or absorption of cells
Pharyngo-	Pertaining to the pharynx	Pharyngotomy	Incision into the pharynx
Phleb-, phlebo-	Denoting the veins	Phlebitis	Inflammation of the veins
phot-, photo-	Relating to light	Photoperiod	Period of light
Pilo-	Relating to hair	Piloerection	Hair standing on end
Plasmo-	Relating to plasma or the substance of a cell	Plasmacyte	Plasma cell
Pneuma-, pneumono-, pneumoto-	Denoting air or gas	Pneumonitis	Inflammation of lung tissue = pneumonia
Pod-, podo-	Meaning foot	Arthropod	Jointed foot (type of insect)
Poly-	Many	Polydactyly	Many digits
Ptyalo-	Denoting saliva	Ptylectasis	Dilation of a salivary duct
Pulmo-	Denoting the lung	Pulmonary	Pertaining to the lungs/respiratory system
Pupillo-	Denoting the pupil	Papillary	Pertaining to or emanating from the pupil
Pyel-, pyelo-	Denoting the pelvis	Pyelonephritis	Inflammation of the renal pelvis
Pyloro-	Relating to the pylorus	Pylorus	The distal aperture of the stomach or abomasums
Py-, pyo-	Denoting pus	Pyonephritis	Infection in the kidneys
Recto-	Denoting the rectum	Rectocele	Hernial protrusion of part of the rectum and colon
Rhin-, rhino-	Denoting the nose	Rhinoscopy	Visual exam of the nose
Sclero-	Denoting hardness	Scleroderma	Hardened skin
Sero-	Pertaining to serum	Seroma	Swelling of serum
Sinistro-	Left	Sinistrocerebral	Situated in the left hemisphere of the brain
Somato-	Denoting the body	Somatic	Pertaining to the body
Spasmo-	Denoting a spasm	Spasmodic	Pertaining to a spasm
Spermato-, spermo-	Denoting sperm	Spermatocide	Agent that destroys spermatozoa
Sphero-	Denoting a sphere, round	Spherocyte	Red blood cell with decreased volume that is round and dense (not biconcave)
Sphygma-	Denoting a pulse	Sphygmomanometer	Instrument for measuring arterial blood pressure
Spleen-, spleno-	Denoting the spleen	Splenomegaly	Enlargement of the spleen
Staphyl-, staphylo-	Resembling a bunch of grapes	Staphylococcus	A group of cocci
Steno-	Narrow, short	Stenosis	Narrowing of an area
Steth-, stetho-	Relating to the chest	Stethoscope	Instrument used to obtain an aural examination of the chest
Stomato-	Denoting the mouth	Stomatocyte	Red blood cell with the appearance of a mouth
Sym-, syn-	With, along, together	Symmetrical	Equally on both sides
Tacho-, tarchy-	Swift	Tachycardic	Pertaining to a swift/fast heartbeat
Tarso-	Relating to the flat of the foot	Tarsal	Pertaining to the hind foot
Terato-	Denoting a marvel, prodigy, or monster	Teratogenic	Production of a deformity in a developing embryo
Thoraco-	Relating to the chest	Thoracocentesis	Puncturing the chest with a needle
Thrombo-	Denoting a clot of blood	Thrombocyte	A cell specialized for forming clots
Toxico-, toxo-	Denoting poison	Toxicology	The study of poisons
Tracheo-	Denoting the trachea	Tracheostomy	Creating an opening in the trachea
Trichi-, tricho-	Denoting hair	Trichoscopy	Examination of the hair
Ur-, uro-, urono-	Relating to urine	Urinalysis	Examination of urine
Vaso-	Denoting a vessel	Vasoconstriction	Constriction of blood vessels
Veno-	Denoting a vein	Venipuncture	Surgical puncture a vein
Ventri-, ventro-	Denoting the abdomen	Ventral	Pertaining to the abdomen in non humans
Vertebro-	Relating to the vertebra	Vertebral	Pertaining to the vertebra
Viscero-	Denoting the organs of the body	Visceral	Pertaining to the surface of the internal organs
vivi-	Denoting alive	Viviparous	Giving birth to living young which develop within the maternal body
Xantho-	Denoting yellow	Xanthochromic	Yellow colored
Xero-	Denoting dryness	Xeroderma	A mild form of ichthyosis, excessive dryness of the skin

Terminology frequently used to designate body parts of organs:

Body part/organ	Medical terminology
Air	Pneumo
Anus	Anal, ano-
Arm	Brachial, brachio-
Blood	Hem-, hemo-, hemat-
Chest	Thoracic, thorax, thoraco
Ear	Auricle, oto-
Eye	Ocular, oculo-, ophthalmo-
Foot	Pedal, ped-, -pod
Gallbladder	Chole-, chol-
Head	Cephalic, cephalo-
Heart	Carium, cardiac, cardio-
Intestines	Cecum, colon, duodenum, ileum, jejunum
Kidney	Renal, nephric, nephro-
Lip	Cheil-, labi-
Liver	Hepatic, hepato
Lungs	Pulmonary, pulmonic
Mouth	Oral, os, stoma, stomat-
Muscle	Myo-
Neck	Cervix, cervical, cervico-
Penis	Penile
Rectum	Rectal
Skin	Derma, integumentum
Stomach	Gastric, gastro-
Testicle	Orchio-, orchi-, orchido-
Urinary bladder	Cysti-, cysto-
Uterus	Hystero-, metra
Vagina	Vulvo, vaginal

Planes and terms relative to the animal body:

Mesial – in or near the middle of the dental arcade
Axial – pertaining to or with respect to the axial skeleton (head, vertebrae, rib cage
Sagittal – a plane or section parallel to the median plane of the body, separates body into right and left
Oblique – slanted or inclined plane
Transverse – separates body into front and back
Lateral – pertaining to a side
Ventral – pertaining to the belly, abdomen, or underside of the body, opposite of dorsal
Dorsal – pertaining to the back or top of the body, opposite of ventral
Cranial – pertaining to the head or cranium
Caudal – pertaining to the hind end or tail
Frontal – plane that separates the body into top and bottom
Rostral – pertaining to the nose
Palmar – pertaining to the pads or bottom of the foot (as would be the human palm)
Plantar – pertaining to the sole or caudal aspect of the digit
Proximal – nearest to a point of reference or point of attachment
Distal – furthest to a point of reference or point of attachment