Building Vocabulary for ESL students: Roots of Words from the Fields of Medicine

The modern era is an era of specialization, and no other field has experienced as much specialization as the medial sciences. But this has become a problem for a common person. One does not really know which doctor to visit for a particular ailment.

Wondering what has medicine got to do with building vocabulary. It is simple; every word originates from a root. The root is the base of the word. It is what gives a meaning to the word. Learning the meaning of one root one can easily decipher the meanings of multiple words. Etymology is the science dealing with facts relating to the development of words. It is not only an easy and interesting method of increasing vocabulary, but one which helps to enhance general knowledge too.

We use this article to achieve a double objective of increasing vocabulary through roots and finding out which doctor to visit for a particular ailment. The list of these fields, the meanings, the roots used to form these words, and some associated words are mentioned below.Most of the words are using the syllables ‘logos’ meaning science. Healthy Reading!!

Anesthesia: It means loss of feeling.

The roots ‘an-’ (meaning - without) + ’aisthesis’ (meaning - feeling) are of Greek Origin.A specialist of this field is known as an anesthetist, and the agent producing this effect is anesthetic.

Cardiology: Cardiology is the science of the heart. A cardiologist takes care of the malfunctioning of the heart.

The roots, again of Greek origin, are ‘kardia’ (meaning - heart) and ‘logos’ (meaning - science). A heart specialist is known as a cardiologist, the machine which records the heart beat is an electrocardiogram.

Dermatology: It is the study of the skin.

It is made by combining the Greek roots ‘derma’ (meaning - skin) + ‘logos’ (meaning -science) .The doctor specializing in this field is known as a dermatologist. The other words using this root are hypodermis (‘hypo’ meaning under + ‘derma’ meaning skin and hypodermis meaning the inner layer of the skin, generally where an injection is given) taxidermy (‘taxis’ meaning arrangement + ‘derma’). Taxidermy is the art of preparing and mounting skins of animals with life like effect.

Gastrology: Gastrology is the science of digestion.

Gastrology is a combination of the Greek roots ‘gaster’ (meaning - stomach and ‘logos’ (meaning - science). The other words formed around the root ‘gaster’ are gastric meaning of the stomach, gastronomic, gastronomy. Gastric means of the stomach, and Gastronomy is the science of good eating and drinking. It would not be difficult to guess the meaning of the word Gastronome. A judge of good food and drink is a Gastronome.

Continuing with our effort of learning new words using roots we look at some more words, the roots and their meanings:

Geriatrics / Gerontiatrics: Geriatrics is the branch of medical and social science dealing with health and medical welfare of old people.

The roots are ‘geras’ (meaning - old age) +‘iatrikos ‘ (meaning -a physician). A practitioner of Geriatrics is known as a Geriatrician.

Gynecology: The branch of medicine dealing with ailments specific to women is Gynecology.

The origin of this word is from the Greek root ‘gyne’ meaning women. When logy meaning science is added the word becomes gynecology meaning science of women. When we add the noun suffix –ist , the word becomes gynecologist. A practitioner in this field is known as a gynecologist. The other words using this root are misogyny meaning hatred for women (‘miso’ is the root for hate and ‘gyne’ for women), polygyny meaning having many wives (‘poly’ is the root for many), androgynous is having male and female in one (‘andros’ is the root for male + ‘gyne’ )

Nephrology: Medical science dealing with the diseases of the kidney is known as Nephrology.

The origin is from the Greek roots ‘nephros ’ meaning kidney combined with the root ‘logos’. Nephrologists are specialists in this particular field of medicine. The other word using the same root is Nephritis meaning inflammation of the kidney (‘nephros’+ ‘itis’ , ‘-itis’ is a noun suffix for inflammation.

Neurology: The scientific study of the nervous system is the field of Neurology in medicine.

The roots are again Greek ‘neuro’ (meaning - nerve ) and ‘logos. A specialist in this field is known as a Neurologist. Some more words using the root are neurosis meaning a disorder of the nervous system (‘neuro’ + Greek suffix ‘-sis’) and neurotic. A neurotic is a person affected by neurosis. (‘neuro’ + adjective suffix ‘otic’)

Obstetrics: Obstetrics is the science of mid wifery, of child birth and the process immediately following and preceding it.

The root of the word is of Latin origin. The root ‘ob’ (meaning – against). Literally it means one who stands opposite the woman giving birth. A specialist in this field is known as an obstetrician.

Oncology: Oncology is the field of medicine which involves studying and curing of tumors.

The root ‘onkos’ (meaning – mass, bulk) is Greek by origin and it has been combined with the root ‘logos’. The specialist in this field is known as an oncologist.

Physic: Physic is the art of healing with the help of medicine and surgery. A physician is a specialist who practices the art of healing. Commonly a physician is the referred to as a General Practitioner. The root used is ‘physica’ meaning natural science and is of Latin origin. The suffix ‘–ician’ makes a noun of the word it is attached to. The other words using the same root are physics meaning science dealing with the properties of matter and energy, and physique is the bodily structure.

Psychology: Psychology is the science of the nature and functions of the human soul. It studies the mental characteristics of a human being. The Greek root 'psykhe' (meaning - spirit, soul) is attached with the root 'logos'. A specialist in this field is known as a psychologist. The other words using this root are psychometry meaning measurement of mental abilities (‘psycho’ + ‘metrique’ from the French root meaning measurement) and psychosomatic meaning of mind and body (‘psycho’ + ‘somatikos’ from the Greek root meaning of the body).

Please note: The article lists only a few specializations and not all in the medical profession, but it gives you a sense of where words come from, and how knowing the root of one word can teach you the meaning of other words.

Reference: Concise Oxford Dictionary, http://www.etymonline.com