Medical Terminology Flashcards

A lab report mentions a low erythrocyte count. What type of cell is this?

Answer: Red blood cell

Erythro- means red and -cyte means cell, so an erythrocyte is a red blood cell.

The pharmacist says pregnancy is a contraindication for a certain medication. What does contraindication mean?

Answer: A reason the treatment should not be used

A contraindication is a condition or factor that makes a treatment inadvisable.

Before surgery, the nurse tells the patient they will be NPO after midnight. What should the interpreter convey?

Answer: Nothing by mouth

NPO comes from the Latin "nil per os" and means nothing by mouth, including food and drink.

A cardiologist diagnoses a myocardial infarction. What is the common English term for it?

Answer: Heart attack

A myocardial infarction is death of heart-muscle tissue from blocked blood flow, commonly called a heart attack.

A urologist explains that a patient has nephrolithiasis. What condition is this?

Answer: Kidney stones

Nephr- (kidney) + lith (stone) + -iasis (condition) means kidney stones.

The physician says the patient's condition is idiopathic. What does this mean?

Answer: It has no known cause

Idiopathic describes a disease that arises spontaneously or has no known cause.

A nurse explains that insulin will be given as a subcutaneous injection. Where is this injection given?

Answer: Beneath the skin

Sub- (beneath) + cutaneous (skin) means the injection goes into the fatty tissue just under the skin.