Section II. BASIC COMPONENTS
pronouncing the terms you will encounter in this lesson.
We will first discuss the main body or basic component of a medical term called the
stem or root word. The stem of a medical word usually indicates the organ or part
which is modified by a prefix or suffix, or both.
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15.
The main body or basic component
of a word is called the ______ or
_______ word.
stem
root
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16.
All words have a stem. Even
everyday words have stems. For
example, in the words "singer,"
"writer," and "speaker," "sing,"
"write," and "speak" are the
stems. In medical terms such
as hepatomone, gastrotome, and
arthrotome, the hepat (meaning
liver), gastr (meaning stomach),
and arthr (meaning joint) are
the
.
stems
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17.
hard to pronounce. This is often true
when a stem ends in a consonant
and the word part that is added to it
also begins with a consonant. This
awkwardness of pronunciation makes
it necessary to insert a vowel called a
combining vowel.
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MD0010
2-6