
Learn the universal language of medicine through medical terminology, enabling clear communication among professionals and patients, decoding terms, and understanding root words and body structures for confident care.
Decode medical terminology by starting with the suffix, then the prefix, and finally the roots, using combining vowels, as in pancreatitis and gastroenterology.
Learn to decode medical terms by focusing on word parts and contextualization, then memorize roots, prefixes, and suffixes with repetition, using quizzes, apps, dictionaries, and pronunciation guides.
Learn to pronounce medical terms using vowel markings: bar marks a long sound, breve marks a short sound, and emphasis is shown by apostrophes or all caps. Examples: pancreatitis, oncology.
Explore common medical suffixes signaling signs, symptoms, and conditions. Learn to decode terms like opia, phasia, emesis, pnea, rrhea, ptosis, and itis to understand medical terminology.
Explain suffixes used in medical terminology related to cellular biology, such as cyte and oma, with examples including melanocyte, atheroma, and processes like angiogenesis and myelopoiesis.
Explore suffixes for tools and procedures in medical terminology. Learn graph, graphy, gram, metry, centesis, ectomy, stomy, tomy, plasty, and scopy; distinguish scope as the visual examination tool.
Learn adjectival suffixes that form adjectives from root words, with examples like cardiac, oid, and adipose, and download the suffix cheat sheet to practice before moving to prefixes and roots.
Explore common medical prefixes and how they alter term meanings, including ante, peri, post; leuko, melano, cyano, chloro, xantho, erythro; nano, micro, kilo, mega.
Explore how the body is organized from cells to systems. Learn anatomical planes and region terms and master common root words for head, neck, limbs, and organs.
Explore the musculoskeletal system's bones and joints, including long, short, and flat bones, cartilage surfaces, bone marrow, growth plates, and common terms used in orthopedics.
Explore the three muscle types—skeletal, smooth, and cardiac—and key muscles, from deltoid to gastrocnemius, plus movement terms like flexion, extension, abduction, and adduction.
Study the skin, the body's largest organ, focusing on epidermis, dermis, and subcutaneous layers, plus melanin, sweat glands, hair, and nails and their roles in protection and sensation.
Review medical terms for the digestive system, from ingestion and digestion to absorption and elimination, covering the oral cavity, esophagus, stomach, intestines, liver, pancreas, and gallbladder.
Learn how the kidneys filter nitrogen waste, reabsorb water and electrolytes in the renal tubules, and channel urine through the renal pelvis, ureter, bladder, and urethra.
Explore male and female reproductive anatomy, including gonads, gametes, and supporting organs. Review pregnancy processes from fertilization to labor and delivery, including the menstrual cycle and embryo development.
Explore the heart and circulatory system, including arteries, veins, and capillaries. Examine blood components, atria and ventricles, valves, conduction, and blood pressure concepts.
Explore the respiratory system anatomy and terminology, tracing inhalation from the nose through the pharynx, larynx, and trachea to bronchi and lungs for gas exchange.
Explore the brain and nervous system anatomy, including CNS and PNS structures, cranial and peripheral nerves, autonomic pathways, brain regions, meninges, ventricles, and key terms for physiology and pathology.
Review the eye and ear, detailing the cornea, pupil, iris, lens, retina, and how light forms vision, plus the ear’s outer to inner structures for hearing and balance.
Hello! This course is Medical Terminology 101. I’m Dr. Emma Hitt Nichols, a long-time medical writer, and I’ve collaborated with medical writer Dr. Jessica Martin to bring you this course so that you can add to your knowledge of medical vocabulary.
Perhaps you are starting some medically-related training, you have to communicate about medicine, or you simply need a refresher course for the knowledge you already have.
With more opportunities to work in healthcare than ever before (and that demand is only growing), learning medical terminology is important if you are hoping to pursue a career in any aspect of healthcare, from medical billing to an allied healthcare profession.
By the end of this course, you will be able to describe the main suffixes and prefixes involved in medical terminology, and decode medical words pertaining to all major body systems.
In this course, we discuss the what, why, and how of medical terminology; we cover the bones, the muscles, the skin, the digestive system, the urinary system, the reproductive system, the heart and circulatory system, the respiratory system, the brain and nervous system, and the eye and the ear. We use a simple approach to medical terminology--not only do we teach you what you need to know, we teach you how to learn medical terminology efficiently. (Hint: it's not by memorizing hundreds of thousands of medical words). Throughout the course, we will give you the tools you need to understand the information, and all of the medical terms are presented with engaging visuals and simple, clear overviews.
Throughout the course we have included cheat sheets and over 140 quiz questions so that you can better learn and retain the material.
This course will be invaluable for people with a passion to learn medical terminology or anyone interested in a career in...
health care, including nursing, dentistry, chiropractics, pharmacy, physical therapy, midwifery, and more
medical and scientific writing, editing, copyediting, or copywriting
medical billing and coding
medical transcription
medical secretary or receptionist
pharmacy technicians
clinical research
All you need to get started is the passion to learn medical terminology and the need to use it in your life.
Just click on the link to enroll. Thanks so much!