Anatomical Roots: Cardi, Gastr, Derm, Neur, Hem

Recognize the Greek roots that name body systems in health and biology texts.

Once you know the suffixes, roots tell you which part of the body a term concerns. Cardi or cardio means heart: cardiac, cardiovascular. Gastr or gastro means stomach: gastric, gastrointestinal. Derm or dermat means skin: dermatology, epidermis (epi-, 'upon'). Neur or neuro means nerve: neuron, neurology. Hem, hema, or hemat means blood: hemoglobin, hematology. Oste or osteo means bone: osteoporosis, a condition of porous, weakened bones. Hepat means liver, and nephr means kidney. Worked example: 'The patient was referred from cardiology to nephrology.

' Without any medical training, you can read that the patient moved from a heart specialist to a kidney specialist. Many of these roots have Latin partners used in everyday English: cardiac versus coronary, dermal versus cutaneous, hepatic versus the plain word 'liver. ' Greek roots dominate in specialist names, which is why medical vocabulary feels foreign until you learn this small set.

• 1Cardi: heart; gastr: stomach; derm: skin.
• 2Neur: nerve; hem/hemat: blood; oste: bone.
• 3Hepat: liver; nephr: kidney.