CMLA Medical Terminology 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The medical term 'leukocytosis' means:
- Decrease in white blood cells
- Increase in white blood cells (Correct answer)
- Destruction of white blood cells
- Absence of white blood cells
Correct answer: Increase in white blood cells
Leuko- means white, -cyte means cell, and -osis means abnormal increase, so leukocytosis is an abnormal increase in white blood cells.
Question 2: What does the prefix 'macro-' mean?
- Small
- Large (Correct answer)
- Many
- Few
Correct answer: Large
Macro- means large, as in macrocyte (abnormally large red blood cell) or macroscopic (visible to the naked eye).
Question 3: The combining form 'hem/o' or 'hemat/o' refers to:
- Lymph
- Urine
- Blood (Correct answer)
- Bile
Correct answer: Blood
Hem/o and hemat/o both refer to blood, as seen in hematology (study of blood) and hemorrhage (bleeding).
Question 4: Which suffix means 'surgical removal' or 'excision'?
- -plasty
- -ectomy (Correct answer)
- -ostomy
- -otomy
Correct answer: -ectomy
The suffix '-ectomy' means surgical removal or excision, as in appendectomy (removal of the appendix).
Question 5: The root word 'ren/o' or 'nephr/o' refers to the:
- Heart
- Kidney (Correct answer)
- Liver
- Lung
Correct answer: Kidney
Both ren/o and nephr/o refer to the kidney; renal pertains to the kidney, as does nephrology (study of kidney disease).
Question 6: What does the suffix '-lysis' mean?
- Formation
- Destruction or breakdown (Correct answer)
- Inflammation
- Hardening
Correct answer: Destruction or breakdown
The suffix '-lysis' means destruction or breakdown, as in hemolysis (breakdown of red blood cells) or urinalysis (breakdown/analysis of urine components).
Question 7: The term 'septicemia' refers to:
- Fungal infection of tissue
- Bacterial infection of the blood (Correct answer)
- Viral inflammation of the brain
- Parasitic infection of the liver
Correct answer: Bacterial infection of the blood
Septicemia comes from 'septic' (infected/putrid) and '-emia' (blood condition), meaning bacterial infection in the bloodstream.
CMLA Medical Terminology 3
The medical term 'leukocytosis' means: