Note than an l is added when the two parts are combined. Note that one o is dropped when the two parts are combined. Many of the anatomical and physiological terms for each body system include a general suffix, while names of conditions and diagnoses tend to use a condition-related suffix that indicate disease actions. The procedure-related group of suffixes indicate cutting or repair actions. You may note that some suffixes have more than one meaning and in some instances multiple suffixes denote a particular meaning.
Some medical terms contain more than one root.
The order in which the root words appear does not always determine the translation of the term. When you are beginning to learn medical terminology, do not be concerned about trying to select the key root word of a term with several roots. Instead, study the meaning of each root. Remember, some terms may contain several root words of equal importance to the term's definition. Adding a combining vowel to a root word creates a word part called a combining form .