2.4 Additional Suffixes

As discussed in Chapter 1, there are different types of cells in the human body. Fig. 2.34 provides a review of the three most common cell types: erythrocyte, leukocyte, and thrombocyte. Note that all the cell names end with the suffix -cyte, meaning “cell,” and begin with a combining form that indicates the type of cell.

The term hemoglobin means “protein (-globin) in the blood (hem/o).” Hemoglobin is the part of the red blood cell that carries oxygen throughout the body and transports carbon dioxide back to the lungs (Mayo Clinic, 2022). Fig. 2.35 is an image of the complex hemoglobin cell structure. If you have low hemoglobin, you would be diagnosed with anemia. Various types of anemia were discussed in Chapter 1.

The term antigen literally means “to produce against.” Some examples of antigens are bacteria, viruses, and fungi. When an antigen enters the body, the immune system responds by producing antibodies to fight the antigen.

There are various ways to detect antigens in the body. An example is the rapid test for COVID-19 (Fig. 2.37),  which is used to detect the presence of certain proteins on the COVID-19 virus found in a sample of bodily fluid.

Fig. 2.38 provides a comparison of a normal prostate and an enlarged prostate. When the prostate becomes enlarged and is non-cancerous, the individual is diagnosed with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Hyperplasia means “formation (-plasia) that is excessive (hyper-).”

Fig. 2.41 below shows examples of several cell types, including hyperplasia. A physician may first treat BPH with medication, but if that does not work, they might perform a surgical procedure called a transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) (WebMD, 2020).

It is important to note that all the suffixes in Table 2.26 (-iatrist, -iatry, -logist, -logy) are very similar but have slightly different meanings. The context determines which suffix is used in a medical term. For example, nephrology means “the study of the kidneys,” whereas a nephrologist is a specialist who treats kidney disease. In fig. 2.39 and 2.40 there are different specialists at work in clinical and laboratory settings.

There are a number of changes that cells can undergo, and Fig. 2.41 illustrates several of these using the suffixes -trophy (“nourishment” or “development”) and -plasia (“formation”).

• atrophy: No development; for example, when a cast is removed and the affected limb has decreased in size
• dysplasia: Formation that is abnormal; for example, children who have abnormal hip formation such as hip dysplasia (Medical News Today, 2022)
• hyperplasia: Formation that is excessive; for example BPH, seen in Fig. 2.38 (WebMD, 2020)
• hypertrophy: Development that is excessive; for example, the large muscles of a bodybuilder (Healthline, 2019).
• metaplasia: Cell formation that has changed; for example, lungs exposed to cigarette smoke may have cells that have changed shape (Giroux & Rustgi, 2017)