What Is Involved With a Medical Terminology Class?

Medical terminology is an introductory course required to advance in any medical-related program of study such as nursing, medical billing and coding, medical assisting or emergency medical technician.

Definition

The medical terminology course introduces the terms used in the medical field to describe all the systems in the human body and the parts that make them work.

Objectives

Upon completion of the course, the student should be able to recognize root words, prefixes and suffixes used in medical language, and be able to combine them to describe medical conditions.

Latin

Many of the root words used in medical language are Latin, or at least have Latin origins, so an important part of the course is to become familiar with the Latin spellings.

Deconstruction

The main lesson learned in a medical terminology course is how to break down the very large words often seen in the medical field, and be able to identify the prefix, suffix and root words, and extract the meaning of each.

Stages

In a medical terminology course, the students will also learn what words correlate with specific stages of a variety of common diseases and disorders. This part of the course will also cover, which words signal good news, and which mean bad news in a variety of cases.

References

• Basics: Medical Terminology Course
• Online Course: Medical Terminology 101
• Medical Terminology Class Online