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Introduction  \n2.  Break It Up  \n3. Word Roots  \n4.  Beginnings and Endings  \n5. Abbreviations  \n6.  Learn More  \nWhat's in this for me?  \n􀁸 Find out why you and your doctor sometimes are speaking different languages.  \n􀁸 Learn how to put together parts of medical words.  \n􀁸 See what you've learned by taking short quizzes.  \n􀁸 Learn more with links to lists of word parts and abbreviations.  \n􀁸 Get the reference material for this tutorial.  \nIntroduction  \nWhat did the doctor say?  \nDo you ever feel as if you and your doctor weren't speaking the same language? Sometimes even words that you think you understand can have a different meaning to your doctor.  \nFor example: heart attack.  \nYour uncle experienced the symptoms of what you understand to be a heart attack, including:  \n􀁸 racing heartbeat  \n􀁸 chest pain  \n􀁸 shortness of breath  \n􀁸 passing out  \nYour uncle's heart stopped beating! Luckily, the emergency responders used CPR and revived him.  \nLater when you’re talking to the doctor, you say how glad you are that he survived his heart attack. The doctor says, \"He didn't have a heart attack. He had a cardiac arrest; but no muscle damage. \" What does the doctor mean?  \nWhat is going on? To you, a heart attack means the heart doesn't beat. To the doctor, a heart attack means there is damage to the heart muscle.  \nAnother example: fever. You take your child’s temperature and it is 99.5 degrees. You call the doctor and say your child has a fever of 99.5 degrees. She says, \"That's not a fever. \" What does she mean?  \nWhat is going on? To you, a fever is anything above 98.6 degrees. To the doctor, a fever is a temperature over 100.4 degrees. You and your doctor sometimes are speaking a different language; but using the same words.  \nSo what can you do? If what you're hearing doesn't make sense, make sure to ask questions! You can also use the MedlinePlus website, MedlinePlus: Health Topics or MedlinePlus: Word Parts to find out more about meanings of the medical words.  \nNow let's look at a couple of tongue-twisting, big words.  \n􀁸 Colonoscopic polypectomy  \n􀁸 Esophagogastroduodenoscopy  \nThese next words sound alike and are similar in spelling, but one is high blood sugar and one is low blood sugar.  \n􀁸 Hyperglycemia  \n􀁸 Hypoglycemia  \nThese next two words also sound alike, but one is a painful problem with your joints and the other is a disease that makes your bones weak.  \n􀁸 Osteoarthritis  \n􀁸 Osteoporosis  \nWhat did the doctor just say? Did she say you needed a colonoscopic polypectomy? What on earth do those two words mean?  \nYou need a what? Transesophageal echocardiogram! What is that?  \nMedical words can be long and confusing. Let's figure out what these words mean.  \nBreak It Up!  \nSome medical words are made up of multiple parts. They might make more sense if you break the word into different parts.  \nBreaking up isn't hard to do! Long medical words can have a:  \n􀁸 Beginning (or prefix): If there's a beginning, it can be about size, shape, color, direction, and amount.  \n􀁸 Middle (or root): The middle is often a part of the body.  \n􀁸 Ending (or suffix): If there's an ending, it can be about the same thing as the beginning, like size, or it can be about a test or it can describe a problem.  \nBreaking up long words.  \nTransesophageal has a:  \n􀁸 Beginning (or prefix) of trans  \n􀁸 Middle (or root) of esophagi  \n􀁸 Ending (or suffix) of eal  \nEchocardiogram has a:  \n􀁸 Beginning (or prefix) of echo  \n􀁸 Middle (or root) of cardio  \n􀁸 Ending (or suffix) of gram  \nThings to remember:  \nNot all medical words have a beginning or ending. Sometimes word pieces can appear in different places, like cardi in these words cardiologist and myocardial. We'll cover what those words mean in the upcoming chapters.  \nTry a short quiz \\#1 Let’s See What You Know or proceed to the next chapter Words Roots.  \nQuiz \\#1, Let’s See What You Know","cbCaia0eGu8WrhFh","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaia0eGu8WrhFh","pdf",1431004,25,"English","# Introduction\n# Break It Up\n# Word Roots\n# Beginnings and Endings\n# Abbreviations\n# Learn More","[{\"question\":\"Why do patients and doctors sometimes seem to speak different languages even when they use the same words?\",\"answer\":\"Medical terms can have different meanings depending on the medical context. The tutorial explains this with examples like heart attack and fever.\"},{\"question\":\"How can you understand long medical words more easily?\",\"answer\":\"Break the word into parts: a beginning (prefix), middle (root), and ending (suffix). Each part often relates to size/shape/direction, a body part, or a test/problem.\"},{\"question\":\"What do common word endings like -itis and -ologist indicate?\",\"answer\":\"The quiz section shows -itis as associated with inflammation (e.g., pharyngitis) and -ologist as associated with a person working with a given subject (e.g., neurologist).\"}]","MedlinePlus - Understanding Medical Words Tutorial | PDF",1790582093,63]