This section will describe common word components related to the hematology system. These word components help build definitions for many medical terms. Other common prefixes are described in Chapter 1.3, and common suffixes are described in Chapter 1.5.

Prefixes Related to the Hematology System

• a-: Absence of, without
• endo-: Within, in
• epi-: On, upon, over
• hyper-: Above, excessive
• hypo-: Below, deficient
• inter-: Between
• pan-: All, total
• peri-: Surrounding, around
• poly-: Many, much

Word Roots With a Combining Vowel Related to the Hematology System

• chrom/o: Color
• coagul/o: Clotting
• cyt/o: Cell
• eosin/o: Red, dawn, rosy
• erythr/o: Red
• fibrin/o: Fibrin
• hem/o: Blood
• hemat/o: Blood
• hepat/o: Liver
• is/o: Same, equal
• isch/o: Deficiency, blockage
• leuk/o: White
• lymph/o: Lymph, lymph tissue
• mon/o: One, single
• myel/o: Bone marrow, spinal cord
• neutr/o: Neutral; neither base nor acid
• phag/o: Eat, swallow
• phleb/o: Vein
• plasm/o: Plasma
• poikil/o: Varied, irregular
• therm/o: Heat
• thromb/o: Clot
• splen/o: Spleen
• ven/o: Vein

Suffixes Related to the Hematology System

• -ac: Pertaining to
• -apheresis: Removal, carrying away
• -ar: Pertaining to
• -blast: Immature cell, embryonic
• -centesis: Surgical puncture to aspirate fluid
• -cyte: Cell
• -cytosis: Abnormal condition of cells (increase in cells)
• -ectomy: Excision, surgical removal
• -emia: In the blood
• -genic: Producing, originating, causing
• -globin: Protein
• -ia: Condition of, diseased state, abnormal state
• -ic: Pertaining to
• -ism: State of
• -itis: Inflammation
• -logist: Specialist who studies and treats
• -logy: Study of
• -lysis: Loosening, dissolution, separating
• -megaly: Enlarged, enlargement
• -oid: Resembling
• -oma: Tumor
• -osis: Abnormal condition
• -ous: Pertaining to
• -pathy: Disease
• -penia: Abnormal reduction in number
• -pexy: Surgical fixation, suspension
• -phage: Eat, swallow
• -plasty: Surgical repair
• -poiesis: Formation
• -rrhage or -rrhagia: Excessive flow
• -stasis: Stop, stopping, controlling
• -tomy: Cut into, incision
• -us: No meaning