It’s time to familiarize yourself with medical terminology for the nervous system. It’s hard to believe the brain and spinal cord hold so much responsibility for the way your entire body functions. And like a supercomputer, one small glitch in how the neurons fire or how the messages are sent down the spinal cord can make the difference between, say, walking and being confined to a wheelchair.
Now let’s start building some vocabulary. Here’s a list of prefixes and suffixes associated with the nervous system.
| Prefix | What It Means |
|---|---|
| Hemi- | Half |
| Pachy- | Thick |
| Para- | Beyond, around, beside |
| Polio- | Gray |
| Quadri- | Four |
| Sub- | Below, under |
| Suffix | What It Means |
| -algia | Pain |
| -itis | Inflammation |
| -malacia | Softening |
| -paresis | Partial paralysis |
| -plegia | Paralysis |
| -schisis | Cleft or splitting |
| -thenia | Lack of strength or weakness |
| -us | Condition |
Now, check out nervous root words and their combining forms.
| Root Word | What It Means |
|---|---|
| Algesi/o | Excessive sensitivity to pain |
| Cephal/o | Head |
| Cerebell/o | Cerebellum |
| Cerebr/o | Brain, cerebrum |
| Crani/o | Cranium (skull) |
| Dur/o | Dura mater |
| Ech/o | Sound |
| Encephal/o | Brain |
| Esthesi/o | Feeling, nervous, sensation |
| Gli/o | Glue, supportive tissues of the nervous system |
| Kinesi/o | Movement |
| Mening/o | Membrane |
| Meningi/o | Meninges |
| Ment/o, phren/o | Mind |
| Myel/o | Spinal cord |
| My/o | Muscle |
| Neur/o | Nerve |
| Phas/o | Speech |
| Pont/o | Pons |
| Psych/o | Mind |
| Radicul/o | Nerve root |
| Thalam/o | Thalamus |
| Ventricul/o | Ventricle |
Here it is: The potpourri, the mish-mash, the great melting pot of nervous system terms. These are some of the most common phrases you’ll hear in the doctor’s office and hospital:
Anesthesia: Without or loss of feeling or sensation
Anesthesiologist: Physician who administers an anesthetic (a drug that reduces feeling)
Ataxia: Lack of muscle coordination
Coma: State of profound unconsciousness
Convulsion: Sudden involuntary contractions of a group of muscles
Dementia: Mental decline
Disorientation: A state of confusion as to time, place, or identity
Gait: A matter or style of walking
Monoplegia: Paralysis of one limb
Neurologist: Physician who specializes in neurology, the scientific study of the nervous system; does not perform surgery
Neurology: The branch of medicine dealing with the study of the nervous system, functions and disorders
Neurosurgeon: Physician who specializes in neurology and performs surgeries on the nervous system
Paraplegia: Paralysis of the lower half of the body
Postictal: Occurring after a seizure or attack
Psychiatrist: Physician who treats mental disorders
Psychiatry: Branch of medicine that deals with treatment of mental disorders (disorders often without any identifiable pathological cause)
Psychogenic: Produced or caused by psychological factors
Psychogenetic: Originating in the mind
Psychologist: Specialist in psychology
Psychology: The study of the mind, mental processes, and behavior
Psychosomatic: Pertaining to the mind and the body
Quadriplegia: Paralysis of all four limbs
Seizure: Sudden involuntary contractions (convulsion)