Prefixes & Suffixes
The following list is by no means complete, but it may help in understanding some difficult terminology. The following abbreviations are used ; Gr., for the Greek ; L., for the Latin.
Term | Definition |
---|---|
mal- | (Gr., bad), malnutrition , bad nutrition. |
lysis | (Gr., destroy), bacteriolysis , desçruction of bacteria. |
luci- | (L., light), luciferin , light-producing material. |
leuko- | (Gr., white), leukocyte , white blood cell. lip- (Gr., fatty), lipoid , fatty substance. |
lepi- | (Gr., scale), Lepidoptera , order of insects with scale wings. |
later- | (L., side), lateral , relating to the side. |
lac- | (L., milk), lactose , milk sugar. |
labi- | (L., lip), labium, lip. |
iso | (Gr., equal), isothermic, having equal temperatures. |
intra- | (L., inside), intracellular, within a cell. |
inter- | (L., between), intercellular, between cells. |
infra- | (L., below), infraorbital, below the orbit. |
in- | (L., in, into, not, without), invaginate , to infold one part within another. |
hypo- | (Gr., under), hypoglossal, situated under the tongue. |
hyper- | (Gr., above), hypersensitive, especially sensitive. |