1) Anatomy vs Physiology, Anatomical Position, Terminology Knowledge

Anatomy vs Physiology:

One of the first things to understand in medicine is the difference between anatomy and physiology. Anatomy has to do with the body parts or the "what" while physiology has to do with the "function." For example, the anatomy could be the lungs, but the physiology would then be to take in oxygen and distribute it to the rest of the body via the blood stream.

Anatomical Position:

Anatomical position is a specific position of the body where the body is standing upright with feet flat on the floor facing forward. The arms are parallel to the body with the palms facing forward. This position is crucial in the medical world as it serves as a shared way to describe the body clearly. See picture for models of anatomical position.

Terminology Knowledge:

Medical terminology is the basis for medicine as it is also shared by much of the healthcare world, just as anatomical position. It is a shared way to describe from diseases to elements of the body. Much of the terminology, especially for illnesses, has commonalities because of the word parts many are based off of.

For example, the word "arthroplasty" is made of the root word "arthr" which means joint, "o" which is a combining vowel which will be discussed later, and "plasty" which means surgical repair, formation, or molding. If we did not know what arthroplasty meant but knew the word parts which made it up, then we could understand the general meaning behind the word "arthroplasty" as a surgical repair, formation, or molding of the joint. This is helpful in understanding the words used in healthcare field.

More Information About Word Parts:

  • Prefixes: The prefix comes at the beginning of the word and makes the root word more specific.

Ex: Re-, Un-, Mis-, Dis-

  • *Word Parts: The word part gives the word its central meaning. It is typically found in the middle of the word or at the beginning of the word.

Ex: Oste, Ven, Gastr, Cardi

  • *Combining Vowels: There are three combining vowels: o, e, and i. Combining vowels joint two word parts or a word part and a suffix. It makes the word easier to pronounce but does not mean anything.

Ex: O, E, I

  • Suffixes: The suffix comes at the end of the word and, typically, adds a condition to the word part or makes it applicable to a body part.

Ex: -Logy, -Itis, -Pathy, -Ous

*There are also combining vowels which is the word part joined with a combining vowel. For example, "cardi/o."

Going from Singular to Plural

There are also specific rules to make terminology from singular to plural. Some are listed below.


  • If the word ends in "a", add an "e" at the end of it.

Ex: Singular - "Metamorphosis" Plural - "Metamorphoses"


  • If the word ends in "itis", change it to "ides".

Ex: Singular - "Dermatitis" Plural - "Dermatides"


  • If the word ends in "on" or "um", change it to "a".

Ex: Singular - "Mycobacterium" Plural - "Mycobacteria"

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