Free MediLearn guides to medical terminology for US nursing students, pre-med and medical assistants — word parts, prefixes, roots, suffixes, and vocabulary by body system.
The most common medical word parts — prefixes, roots and suffixes — explained in
Core cardiology vocabulary in plain English: heart anatomy, symptoms, common con
Core respiratory system vocabulary in plain English: airway anatomy, breathing s
The core vocabulary of the skin — defined in clear English for nursing and medic
The core vocabulary of the gut, liver and pancreas — defined in clear English fo
The core vocabulary of hormones and glands — defined in clear English for nursin
The core vocabulary of bones, muscles and joints — defined in clear English for
The core vocabulary of the brain, spinal cord and nerves — defined in clear Engl
The core vocabulary of the kidneys, bladder and urinary tract — defined in clear
Core ophthalmology vocabulary in plain English: eye anatomy, refractive errors a
Core gynecology vocabulary in plain English: reproductive anatomy, menstrual dis
Core otolaryngology (ENT) vocabulary in plain English: ear, nose and throat anat
Core hematology vocabulary in plain English: blood cells, clotting and common bl
Core psychiatry vocabulary in plain English: mood, thought and behavior disorder
Master the vocabulary of oncology — from tumors and staging to chemotherapy and
Master the core vocabulary of child health, from newborn care to common childhoo
Pathogens, types of infection, laboratory tests and prevention terms, defined in
Master the core vocabulary of the immune system, from innate defenses to allergy
Interactive English medical module: 🇬🇧↔🇫🇷 flashcards, audio pronunciation and quizzes across 7 clinical themes (reception, symptoms, diagnosis, treatments…). Start free.
Open the English module →Medical terminology is the standardized language used to describe the human body, conditions, procedures and treatments. Most terms are built from Greek and Latin word parts — a prefix, a root and a suffix — so once you know the parts, you can decode words you have never seen. For example, "cardiology" = cardio- (heart) + -logy (study of).
The root carries the core meaning (cardi- = heart), the prefix changes it (brady- = slow), and the suffix tells you what is happening (-itis = inflammation). So "bradycardia" means a slow heart rate, and "myocarditis" means inflammation of the heart muscle. Learning the common parts lets you break down thousands of terms.
The most effective method is spaced repetition combined with decoding: instead of memorising whole words, learn the word parts and review them at increasing intervals. Testing yourself with quizzes and flashcards fixes the vocabulary far better than re-reading lists.