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Musculoskeletal System

Musculoskeletal system terms

Oste/oBoneOsteitis, osteoma, osteocyte
Chondr/oCartilageChondritis, chondroma, chondrocyte
Arthr/oJointArthritis, arthroplasty
Myel/oBone marrowMyeloma
Ten/o, tendin/oTendon (binds muscle to bone)Tendonitis, tenorrhaphy
Ligament/oLigament (binds bone to bone)Ligamentous injury
Burs/oBursa, “bag”, (shock absorber between tendons and bones)Bursitis
My/o, myos/oMuscleMyoma, myositis
-malaciaSofteningOsteomalacia, chondromalacia
-astheniaWeakness, loss of strengthMyasthenia gravis
-trophyDevelopment, stimulation, maintenanceAtrophy (shriveling of muscles), hypertrophy  (increase in size and strength of muscles)
-algia, algesiaPainMyalgia, arthralgia, analgesia  (take away pain

I have long since stopped defining what “-itis” means, or “-oma.” Do you remember what “-plasty” means, or how about “-rrhaphy”? These word parts were introduced in previous modules. This program is all about building word roots, prefixes and suffixes into medical terms. The ultimate goal is for you to be able to figure out the meaning of new terms, or, at least, not be intimidated about looking it up in a medical dictionary.