Word Power is a text designed for courses that teach terms commonly found in the fields of medicine and allied health. The book’s linguistic approach focuses on the analysis of these terms which are derived largely from Greek and Latin roots. It is a nice alternative to rote memorization, because it helps the student understand the origin of the words they will use or come across everyday in their profession. Word Power also touches on some history of the medical language where medical terms, for instance, have entered the lexicon in non-scientific ways. Finally, Word Power will help the student translate Latin anatomical nomenclature, serving both as an aid to memory and as an aid to studying anatomy.

This book is the product of my experience in teaching medical terminology at Michigan State University. It is intended for all students of medicine. Its approach is linguistic rather than scientific, and so it may be used profitably, I believe, by those students with nonprofessional interests in medicine. It has three purposes.

The first is to train the student in the analysis of terms. The vocabulary of medicine is vast and grows daily. Unreflective memorization not only is a Herculean task; it provides no help in deciphering unfamiliar words. Most medical terms, however, are composed of elements taken from Greek and Latin in a way that signals their technical meaning. Analysis, or the breaking up of terms into their components, provides clues to the meaning of new terms and mnemonics for retaining others. Augmenting the student’s recognition and retention of medical terms through the principles of analysis is the primary purpose of this book.

The way to growth in vocabulary begins with a command of the components of terms—prefixes, bases, and suffixes. They are the building blocks; their meanings must be memorized, not the terms themselves. Bases are presented by body systems. Those which derive from Greek are capitalized; those from Latin are in lower case. The purpose of this distinction is to encourage the student to learn the origin of a base, since it is important for both the history and makeup of terms. All prefixes are presented in the early lessons; suffixes are throughout the lessons.

Each lesson has an exercise in analysis except those that treat anatomical terminology. Analysis consists of breaking a term into its components, assigning each a meaning, and reassembling the meanings. It leads to a definition which, at the least, alludes to the meaning of the term. For example, tonsillitis breaks up into the suffix -itis (inflammation) and the base (tonsill-) and means inflammation of the tonsils. Nephroma is a tumor (-oma) of the kidney (NEPHR-); pericardiorrhaphy is the suture (-rrhaphy) of the membrane around (peri-) the heart (CARDI-). The principles that govern the formation of definitions will be discussed. How closely analysis comes to the technical meaning depends upon how carefully the term was composed.

Exercises in composing terms are introduced in Lesson Five. Composition is the reverse of analysis: a definition is translated into a term. A key of terms corresponding to the definitions is provided. Every term in this book is or has been part of the language of medicine. Most are found in Dorland’s Illustrated Medical Dictionary, 25^th edition.

To fulfill its function of precise and unambiguous communication of ideas, a scientific language should be exact and free from vague connotations, because language is the medium in which we think as well as communicate. Analysis soon reveals that the language of medicine falls short of this goal. Generations of men have observed, formed hypothesis, and named the structures of the body, symptoms and causes of diseases, and their treatments. Schools of thought, each with its own way of looking at things and naming them, have contended for favor since modern medicine began with Hippocrates. Terms have been actively and not always correctly adapted from the ancient languages and changed according to the haphazard, intuitive principles of spoken language. The result is that medical terminology is both more and less than a scientific nomenclature. It is a living language with an elusiveness of its own. The second purpose of this book is to convey some notion of the history and whimsy of medical language.

The third purpose is to train the student to translate Latin anatomical nomenclature. Such terminology is part of the language of medicine, and though it may be fudged or blindly memorized, it can become a source of anxiety and a stumbling block to learning. Effort expended in acquiring the skill to translate these terms is repaid twofold. Terms will be more easily remembered since they will make sense on their own. Moreover, once translated, they identify or describe the structure to which they refer, thus aiding the study of anatomy. The elements of Latin presented in the lessons are limited to those necessary for translating terms.

On the other hand, since many medical schools and journals in this country permit anglicized terminology (which is not strictly a translation), the student may deem such skill unnecessary. For this reason, the lessons on anatomical terminology have been written as a self-contained unit. They may be omitted without impairing the book’s primary purpose. Even so, it is recommended that they be read as background.

The illustrations are intended as a study aid to the bases. For exact representations, a textbook on anatomy or a medical dictionary should be consulted.

I wish to thank my friend and colleague, Edward Eisenstein, Professor of Biophysics and medical student, for his advice and consultations. Mistakes that remain are my responsibility. As always, I am indebted to my wife, Mary Ann, for her careful and patient reading and rereading of each page.