ME102 Hematology and Infectious Disease
By Ivy Vo
Roots
Ameb(a)- : amoeba
An- : lack of
-aria : air
Candidus/candidi- : white
Cella : small room or chamber
Chole- : bile
-cyt(h)- : pulmonary
Cyt(e) - cell
Dys- : bad
Embol(os) : wedge or plug
-emia : blood, presence of blood
-enteron/entery : intestines
Erytho(s)- : red
Gono(s)- : semen
Hemo- : blood
-iasis : medical condition
-ism : state or condition
-itis : inflammation
-kephale/cephal- : head
-kytos/cytes : cell
Lepros- : scaly, peel
Leuko(s)/leuk- : white
-lysis : break down or dissolve
Mal- : bad
Meninx/g- : membrane
Mumple : mumble
-myel(os)- : spinal cord
-oid : resembling
-osis/asis : disease or condition
-penia : deficiency
Polio- : gray
Poly- : many
-rhagein/rrhage : burst forth or flow
-rhoia/rrhea : flow
Rubellus : reddish
Tetanos : taut or stretched
Thrombo- : blood clot
Tubercul(um)- : small swelling
Typho(s)- : smoke or stupor
Vocabulary
Terminology [Root] : Definition
Blood : fluid that circulates vascular system
Cell [cella] : compartments in living beings
Embolus [embolos] : detached mass obstruction wedged into a blood vessel
Erythrocytes [erythro-cytes] : red blood cells
Leukocytes [leuko-cytes] : white blood cells
Platelets : small cell fragments in blood
Anemia [an-emia] : lack of red blood cells
Polycythemia [poly-cyth-emia] : too many red blood cells in blood
Hemolysis [hemo-lysis] : breakdown or destruction of blood
Leukemia [leuk-emia] : abnormal production of white blood cells
Leukocytosis [leuko-cyt-osis] : increase in white blood cells
Leukopenia [leuko-penia] : deficiency of white blood cells
Thromboembolism [thrombo-embol-ism] : blood clot causing an obstruction in a blood vessel
Embolism [embol-ism] : obstruction of blood vessel by an embolus
Hemorrhage [hemo-rrhage] : flow of blood due to ruptured blood vessel
Hemorrhagic fever : symptoms (fever) due to hemorrhage
Tuberculosis [tubercul-osis] : swollen nodes causing cough, fever, and weight loss
Malaria [mal-aria] : disease caused by bad air and spread by mosquitos
Leprosy [lepros(y)] : condition with red skin patches
Cholera [chole(ra)] : excess of bile
Dysentery [dys-entery] : inflammation of intestines causing diarrhea
Typhoid fever [typho-oid (fever)] : severe fever causing confusion
Encephalitis [en-cephal-itis] : inflammation of the brain
Meningitis [mening-itis] : inflammation of the meninges (brain and spinal cord membrane)
Poliomyelitis [polio-myel-itis] : inflammation of gray matter in spinal cord
Diphtheria : formation of pseudomembrane in the throat
Pertussis : whooping sound during cough
Tetanus [tetanos] : bacterial infection characterized by stiffness and spasms
Measles : viral infection with rash of red spots
Mumps [mumple] : swelling of the salivary glands
Rubella [Rubellus] : viral infection with mild rash and fever
Gonorrhea [gono-rrhea] : sexually transmitted infection with discharge of pus
Syphilis : sexually transmitted infection caused by Treponema pallidum
Candidiasis [candidi-asis] : white lesions or discharge
Amebiasis [ameb-iasis] : infection or disease caused by amoebic parasite Entamoeba histolytica
Idioms/Slangs
Blood work - series of blood tests to assess a patient. ex. The doctor ordered blood work to assess the patient’s overall health.
Catch a bug - to be infected by a virus or bacteria. ex. I had to stay home today because I caught a bug and wasn’t feeling well.
Crabs - pubic lice. ex. The patient realized he had crabs after experiencing itching in his genital area.
Drawing blood - collecting a patient’s blood sample. ex. The phlebotomist was good at drawing blood from the patient’s arm quickly.
Hard stick - difficult to insert a needle, often times for drawing blood. ex. The patient was a hard stick, because their veins were small.
Social disease: sexually transmitted disease (STD). ex. People should practice safe sex to reduce the risk of getting a social disease.
The runs - diarrhea. ex. After eating old leftovers, the patient experienced the runs.