Medical suffixes are those words or letters added to the end of a word to enhance its meaning. Understanding the meaning of the various medical suffixes can help you understand medical terminology, which you’ll learn in nursing school terminology courses.
Test your knowledge of medical and nursing suffixes by taking the quiz below. Before taking the quiz, you may want to review our medical prefixes video or medical suffixes notes.
Medical Suffixes Quiz
Medical Suffixes Quiz
1. What is the meaning of the suffixes “ic, ac, ary, and ous”?
a. pertaining to or referring to
b. low or below
c. weakness
d. to cut out
The answer is a, pertaining to or referring to. Example: celiac means referring to the bowels. Gastric means pertaining to the stomach. Venous is referring or pertaining to the veins.
2. What is the meaning of the suffix “algia”?
a. weakness
b. pain
c. to soothe
d. cell
The answer is b, pain. Neuralgia is pain along a nerve’s path.
3. What is the meaning of the suffix “asthenia”?
a. pain
b. pertaining to
c. to cut out
d. weakness
The answer is d, weakness. Myasthenia gravis is weakness of the muscles.
4. What is the meaning of the suffix “centesis”?
a. deficiency
b. pertaining to
c. to puncture surgically
d. to capture an image
The answer is c, to puncture surgically. Example: amniocentesis is a procedure to puncture the amniotic sac and remove fluid for testing.
5. What is the meaning of the suffix “cide”?
a. to help
b. to kill
c. pertaining to
d. to secrete
The answer is b, to kill. A fungicide is something that kills a fungus.
6. What is the meaning of the suffix “cyte”?
a. toxic
b. to kill
c. to diminish
d. cell
The answer is d, cell. An erythrocyte is a red blood cell.
7. What is the meaning of the suffix “drome”?
a. running or occurring
b. not enough; deficient
c. to carry
d. to record
The answer is a, running or occurring. A syndrome is a group of signs or symptoms that are running a course or occurring together.
8. What is the meaning of the suffix “ectomy”?
a. a disease
b. to cut out
c. pertaining to
d. drive away
the answer is b, to cut out. A tonsillectomy is a procedure to cut out the tonsils.
9. What is the meaning of the suffix “emia”?
a. cell
b. to remove surgically
c. of the bones
d. pertaining to blood
The answer is d, pertaining to blood. Anemia means you don’t have enough red blood cells or hemoglobin.
10. What is the meaning of the suffix “gen”?
a. softening of something
b. hardening of something
c. producing or causing something
d. pertaining to
The answer is c, producing or causing something. A carcinogen is something that can cause cancer.
11. What is the meaning of the suffix “gram”?
a. a tool
b. to image or record
c. a growth of something
d. to cut out
The answer is b, to draw or record. For example, a mammogram is an X-ray image of breast tissue.
12. What is the meaning of the suffix “ia”?
a. a condition
b. a surgical procedure
c. to cut out
d. to enlarge
The answer is a, a condition. Pneumonia is a condition affecting the lungs.
13. What is the meaning of the suffix “iatrics”?
a. to write
b. to cut out
c. a specialty
d. inflammation
The answer is c, a specialty. Pediatric doctors specialize in treating children.
14. What is the meaning of the suffix “itis”?
a. a disease
b. inflammation
c. to write or picture
d. to study
The answer is b, inflammation. Dermatitis is inflammation of the skin (dermis).
15. What is the meaning of the suffix “lysis”?
a. to build up
b. to break apart
c. a condition
d. containing lice
The answer is b, to break apart. Hemolysis refers to the breaking apart of red blood cells.
16. What is the meaning of the suffix “malacia”?
a. softening or weakening
b. to break apart
c. to join
d. to kill
The answer is a, softening or weakening. Osteomalacia is softening of the bones (osteo).
17. What is the meaning of the suffix “phagia”?
a. to break apart
b. to join
c. to breathe
d. eating or consuming
The answer is d, eating or consuming. Dysphagia is difficulty (dys) eating or swallowing (phagia).
18. What is the meaning of the suffix “pnea”?
a. to eat or consume
b. to void
c. breathing
d. to cut out
The answer is c, breathing. If a person has sleep apnea, they stop breathing during their sleep.
19. What is the meaning of the suffix “stenosis”?
a. to expand or dilate
b. narrowing or closing in
c. a condition or diagnosis
d. a discharge
The answer is b, a narrowing or closing in. If a person has renal artery stenosis, it means their renal artery has narrowed.
20. What is the meaning of the suffix “uria”?
a. urine
b. infection
c. inflammation
d. a condition or state
The answer is a, urine. Proteinuria is protein in the urine.
