You need some understanding of medical terminology and medical conditions to provide support to your clients in the community services or care industries.
Typical duties of a support worker include providing personal care, recognising changes in a client’s body and function, contributing to care plans/support plans and reporting concerns about a client's health and wellbeing to a supervisor – both physical and mental.
A support worker must be familiar with correct terminology used to describe parts of the body, as well as medical conditions, so communication with healthcare professionals is accurate.
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Watch the video
Watch ‘How to master medical terminology’ to learn how medical terms are broken down. You only need to watch until 1:53.
- If ‘hyper’ means high, what word do you use to describe ‘low’?
- Why is it better to start with the suffix and work backwards?
- Think of conditions or procedures that you have had or are familiar with, such as a colonoscopy or cystectomy, and break them down to gain their full meaning.
Make notes in your notebook or digital device to refer to later.
Health information must never be ambiguous or open to interpretation; a client’s health may be placed at risk when instructions or information are unclear or able to be misinterpreted.
Here are some contexts where you may see medical terminology used to communicate health information:
- in correspondence emails, referrals and medical forms
- information describing areas of the client’s body requiring attention
- descriptions of symptoms and signs of illness or ill health
- names of diseases and disorders
- names of tests or procedures to diagnose illness
- types of treatments or procedures to treat illness or discomfort
- abbreviations for terms used in health records
- names of instruments, equipment and resources required for treatments
- names of medication or drugs, including generic and brand names.
Learning the basics in health terminology
It is common to look at health terminology and think you are looking at a completely different language – and in many cases you are!
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Many medical terms come from ancient languages like Latin. There are certain rules that will help you understand complex terms by breaking them down. It is a matter of becoming familiar with these rules and applying them to new medical terms you come across.
Before you learn the medical names and functions of the human body, you need to learn basic common phrases that are used.
For example in this topic, you will be learning about:
- anatomy, which is the study of the body’s structures and the relationships between the body parts
- physiology, which is the study of how the human body works and the chemical and physical reactions that underlie every bodily function.
Understanding the language of health terminology
Some medical terms will be familiar to you, whereas others are very long and difficult to say, let alone understand.
Medical terminology follows a system where two or three components form a word that can be broken down into parts. Each of the parts have specific meanings that, when put together, give the term its meaning.
Most medical terms are made up of three basic components.
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Select the items on the image to reveal more information.
Prefixes and suffixes are letters or groups of letters that are not words themselves but change the meaning of a word when added to a word root.
Let’s look at an example:
| Component | Description |
|---|---|
| HYPERTHYROIDISM | |
| Components: | hyper / thyroid / ism |
| Prefix: | hyper (meaning overactive) |
| Word root: | thyroid (refers to the thyroid gland) |
| Suffix: | ism (referring to a condition) |
| Meaning: | A condition that is caused by an overactive thyroid gland. |
At first glance new medical terms may look intimidating, however with practice, you will begin to recognise word parts as you see them repeated. You will learn to break down the word into its separate parts and the meaning of the term will become clear.
Common medical prefixes
A prefix is a group of letters that comes before the root or roots of a word.
Prefixes are generally used to convey the following kinds of information:
- Quantity – the number or amount of something.
Example: ‘tri’ means ‘three’, as in triceps muscle (which has three points of attachment).
- Negatives – that something is ‘not’, ‘without’ or ‘against’.
Example: ‘anti’ meaning ‘against’, as in antibiotic (which is against (kills) bacteria).
- Degree, size or comparison – whether something is big or small, fast or slow.
Example: ‘mega’ meaning ‘big’, as in megacolon (which is an abnormal increase in size of the colon).
- Time, position or direction – whether something is above or below, before or after.
Example: ‘ante’ meaning ‘before’, as in antenatal (before a baby is born) and ‘post’ meaning ‘after’, as in postnatal (after a baby is born).
Read to learn more
Download Common medical prefixes for a list of examples of prefixes and their meanings found in medical terms.
Common medical suffixes
A suffix is a group of letters that come after the root or roots of a word. Suffixes are always found at the end of the word and every medical term ends in a suffix.
Suffixes are generally used to convey the following meanings:
- Medical conditions and diseases
Example: ‘ia’ as in hypothermia.
- Medical instruments
Example: ‘graph’ meaning ‘a recording instrument’, as in electrocardiograph.
- Diagnostic measurement tools
Example: ‘scope’ as in ‘stethoscope’.
- The condition of body fluids
Example: ‘aemia’ as in ‘leukaemia’.
- Senses, body functions or processes – vision, hearing, breathing, growth
Example: ‘opia’ as in ‘myopia’ refers to a condition related to vision.
- Denoting people and areas of specialty
Example: ‘logist’ as in cardiologist.
Read to learn more
Download Common medical suffixes for a list of examples of medical suffixes and their meanings found in medical terms.
Word roots used in medical terms
Word roots indicate the basic meaning of a word.
Word roots can be found on their own or added to another word root to form a new word.
Prefixes and suffixes can be added to a word root to change the meaning of the word. For example, the prefix ‘para’, meaning ‘beside’, can be added to the word root ‘thyroid’. It changes the meaning of the word to ‘beside the thyroid’.
Word roots are generally used to convey the following meanings:
- Body structures or anatomy: the cells, tissues, glands, organs, cavities and regions of the body
Example: ‘pneumon’ meaning ‘lung’, as in pneumonia (a disease of the lungs).
- Body fluids: blood, sweat, tears, saliva, mucus, pus, bile, urine, etc
Example: ‘sial’ meaning ‘saliva’, as in sialogram (imaging the salivary glands).
- Chemical compounds: substances such as sugar, protein, fat, oxygen, poison and drugs
Example: ‘gluc’ meaning ‘sugar’, as in glucose (sugar molecule).
- Physical factors: temperature, light, sound, electricity, radiation
Example: ‘therm’ meaning ‘heat’, as in thermometer (a device to measure temperature).
- Agents of infection: bacteria, viruses, fungi
Example: ‘myc’ meaning ‘fungus’, as in mycosis (a disease caused by fungus).
- Colours
Example: ‘leuk’ meaning ‘white’, as in leukaemia (disease of the white blood cells).
Putting words together
When various components of a word are put together, combining vowels such as ‘i’ or ‘o’ are sometimes used to help with the pronunciation.
These are usually added between a word root and the prefix or suffix.
Here are two examples:
- In the term osteopathy, ‘oste’ is the word root, ‘o’ is the combining vowel, and ‘pathy’ is the suffix.
- In the term cardiovascular, two word roots are joined, ‘cardi’ and ‘vascular’, with ‘o’ as the combining vowel.
Read to learn more
Select the arrows to move through the slides to view examples of word roots used in anatomical terms (relating to parts of the human body).
Read to learn more
Access The Free Medical Dictionary. Are there any medical terms you are unfamiliar with? Enter them into the search bar on this website to learn more about them.
Make notes in your notebook or digital device to refer to later.
Case study
Brad is a new support worker attending his first staff meeting. He works in a large residential aged care facility that employs 21 staff. Brad listens carefully to the discussion as various senior staff members and allied health professionals talk about the health and wellbeing of clients.
One of the physiotherapists mentions a client who has been complaining of lower back pain. As the case study is explained, Brad recognises various medical terms used to describe the muscles, organs and bones being treated by the physiotherapist. When he hears the term ‘renal’, he reflects that the client’s issue may be connected to his kidneys.
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Interpreting abbreviations
An abbreviation is a shortened form of word. Using abbreviations saves time when documenting health information. Abbreviations are used as a kind of shorthand to document and communicate written health information.
Abbreviations may be used in many areas of your work, including:
- the names of medical services, hospitals or organisations
- people providing health services to a client
- different areas of medicine, medical procedures, medical equipment and instruments
- recording of medical information.
Every organisation will have a slightly different protocol for using abbreviations to document information. If you are ever asked to make notes documenting your client’s health, your supervisor can check your work and help you to complete documents correctly.
Common acronyms and abbreviations
An acronym uses the first letters of several words, e.g., ‘ABI’ for ‘acquired brain injury’.
An abbreviation is a shortening of a word, e.g. ‘abx’ for ‘antibiotics. Using acronyms and abbreviations saves time and space in written documents.
The acronyms and abbreviations you use will vary according to the area you work in and the people you support.
For example, they may be used to:
- shorten the names of health professionals, such as ‘OT’ meaning ‘occupational therapist’.
- refer to diseases, such as ‘CF’ for ‘cystic fibrosis’ or ‘RA’ for ‘rheumatoid arthritis’.
Almost all abbreviations are written without full stops or other punctuation; for example, CVD (meaning cardiovascular disease) is not written as C.V.D. Abbreviations are usually capitalised. Exceptions to this rule are those used for medications and prescriptions, which are often in lower case.
The following is a list of common medical acronyms and abbreviations.
| Acronym / Abbreviation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ABI | acquired brain injury |
| ACF | aged care facility |
| ABX | antibiotics |
| AHW | allied health worker |
| BP | blood pressure |
| BMI | body mass index |
| BS | blood sugar |
| BGL | blood glucose levels |
| CALD | culturally and linguistically diverse |
| CPR | cardiopulmonary resuscitation |
| DOB | date of birth |
| GI | gastrointestinal |
| HACC | home and community care |
| IDDM | insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus |
| IV | intravenous |
| LOW | loss of weight |
| NOK | next of kin |
| P | pain |
| VS | vital signs |
| W/O | without |
| WT | weight |
| X | times |
Case study
Dev has been employed as a support worker in an organisation that has a health clinic. He is becoming familiar with the abbreviations the doctors use in their documentation and when speaking to each other. He has been compiling his own list of commonly used abbreviations so he can learn them.
So far, his list includes:
- ABI
-
BID
- COPD
- IDDM
-
LOW
- VS
- WT
Conduct research into the meanings of each abbreviation. Make notes in your notebook or digital device to refer to later.
Case study
Luke has been reading about his client’s health condition in their care plan. Luke uses his knowledge of medical terms and abbreviations to understand what he is reading:
‘Mr Clive has had IDDM for 10 years. He consults his GP regularly and is under the supervision of an endocrinologist and ophthalmologist. Patient reports BGLs are within normal levels.’
‘Recommendations: Monitor condition of feet for wounds (compromised skin integrity).’
