Prefix Supplementary Information
Prefix Supplementary Information
Additional Prefix Terms Not Listed in Textbook
Prefix | Definition | Example |
allo- | other, differing from normal | allograft |
ana- | up, apart | anabolism |
ante- | before, forward | anteflexion |
cata- | down | catabolism |
con- | with, together | congenital anomaly |
de- | down, lack of | dehydration |
ec- | out, outside | ectopic pregnancy |
in- | into, within | incision |
mal- | bad | malaise |
meta- | beyond, change | metacarpal bones |
neo- | new | neonatal |
pan- | all | pancytopenia |
per- | through | percutaneous |
post- | after, behind | postmortem |
pre- | before, in front of | precancerous |
pro- | before, forward | prolapse |
pros- | before, forward | prosthesis |
re- | back, again | relapse |
sym- | together, with | synthesis |
syn- | together, with | symbiosis |
Prefix Information Video
Areas of Clarification
Not all medical terms have prefixes. Prefixes are only used to change the meaning of a word or to identify several areas including direction, size, position, or other common identifying traits. The word root/combining form will determine the best one to utilize, however it is important to note that there several prefixes that can have the same meaning.
There are several prefixes that have a direct opposite/contrasting prefix. Identifying these might help later for word building. They include:
ab- away from | ad- toward |
dys- bad, difficult | eu- good, easy |
hyper- excessive, increased | hypo-deficient, decreased |
inter- between, among (but not within) | intra - within, inside |
sub- under, below, less | super- or supra- above, excessive |