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In medical terminology, many verbs or combining forms of verbs are derived from either Greek or Latin. These verbs may be added to other root words to form words or prefixes and suffixes may be added to them to form words.
| Root | Meaning | Examples |
| Algia | Pain | Cardialgia (heart); gastralgia (stomach); neuralgia (nerve) |
| Audi, audio | Hear, hearing | Audiometer (measure); audiophone (voice instrument for deaf ) |
| Bio | Live | Biology (study of living); biostatistics (vital statistics); biogenesis (origin) |
| Cau, caus | Burn | Caustic (suffix added to make adjective); cauterization; causalgia (burning pain); electrocautery |
| Centesis | Puncture, perforate | Thoracocentesis (chest); pneumocentesis (lung); arthrocentesis (joint); enterocentesis (intestine) |
| Clas, claz | Smash, break | Osteoclasis (bone); odontoclasis (tooth) |
| Duct | Draw | Ductal (suffix added to make adjective); oviduct (egguterine tube or fallopian tube); periductal (per means around); abduct (prefix meaning lead away from) |
| Dynia | Pain | Mastodynia (breast); pleurodynia (chest); esophagodynia (esophagus); coccygodynia (coccyx) |
| Ecta, ectas | Dilate | Venectasia(dilation of vein); cardioectasis (heart); ectatic (suffix added for adjective) |
| Edem | Swell | Myo edema (muscle); lymphedema (lymph);(a is a suffix added to make a noun) |
| Esthes | Feel | Esthesia (suffix added to make noun); anesthesia (an is prefix) |
| Fiss | split | Fissure; fission (suffixes added to make nouns) |
| Flex, flec | Bend | Flexion (suffix added to make noun); flexor (suffix added); anteflect, (prefix added meaning before bending forward) |
| Flu, Flux | Flow | Fluctuate; fluxion; affluent (abundant flowing) |
| Geno, genesis | Produce, origin | Genotype; homogenesis (same origin); pathogenesis (disease origin of disease); heterogenesis (prefix added, meaning other alteration of generation) |
| Iatro, iatr | Treat, cure | Geriatrics (old age); pediatrics (children) |
| Kine, kino, kineto, kinesio | Move | Kinetogenic (producing movement); kinetic (suffix added to make adjective); kinesiology (study) |
| Liga | Bind | Ligament (suffix added to make noun) ligat ligature |
| Logy | Study | Parasitology (parasites); bacteriology (bacteria); histology (tissues) |
| Lysis | Breaking up, dissolving | Hemolysis (blood); glycolysis (sugar); autolysis (selfdestruction of cells) |
| Morph, morpho | Form | Morphology; amorphous (no definite form); pleomorphic (more occurring in various forms polymorphic (many) |
| Olfact | Smell | Olfactophobia (fear); olfactory (suffix added to make adjective) |
| Op, opto | See | Amblyopia (dull dimness of vision); presbyopia (old impairment of vision in old age); optic; myopia (myein, meaning shut nearsighted) |
| Palpit | Flutter | Palpitation |
| Par, partus | Labor | Postpartum (after birth); parturition (act of giving birth); para i, ii, iii, iv, etc., are symbols of number of births |
| Pep | Digest | Dyspepsia (bad, difficult); peptic (suffix added to make adjective) |
| Pexy | Fix | Mastopexy (fixation of breast); nephrosplenopexy (surgical fixation of kidney and spleen |
| Phag, phago | Eat | Phagocytosis (eating of cells); phagomania (madness mad craving for food or eating dysphagia (difficult eating or swallowing) |
| Phan, phas | Appear visible, | Phanerosis (act of becoming visible); phantasia; phantasy; phasmophobia (fear of ghosts) |
| Phas | Speak, utter | Aphasia (unable to speak); dysphasia (difficulty in speaking) |
| Phil | Like, love | Hemophilia (blood a hereditary disease characterized by delayed clotting of blood); acidophilia (acid stain liking or staining with acid stains); philanthropy (love of mankind) |
| Phobia | Fear | Hydrophobia (fear of water); photophobia (fear of light); claustrophobia (fear of close places |
| Phrax, phrag | Fence off, wall off | Diaphragm (across partition separating thorax from abdomen); phragmoplast (formed) |
| Plas | Form, grow | Neoplasm (new growth); rhinoplasty (nose operation for formation of nose); otoplasty (ear); choledochoplasty (common bile duct) |
| Plegia | Paralyze | Paraplegia (paralysis of lower limbs); ophthalmoplegia (eye); hemiplegia (partial paralysis) |
| Pne, pneo | Breathe | Dyspnea (difficult breathing); apnea (lack of breathing); hyperpnea. (overbreathing) |
| Poie | Make | Hematopoiesis (blood); erythropoiesis (red blood cells); leukopoiesis ( ' white blood cells) |
| Ptosis | Fall | Proctoptosis (anus prolapse of anus); splanchnoptosis (viscera) |
| Rrhagia | Burst forth, pour | Menorrhagia (abnormal bleeding during menstruation); menometrorrhagia (abnormal uterine bleeding); hemorrhage (blood) |
| Rrhaphy | Suture | Herniorrhaphy (suturing or repair of hernia); hepatorrhaphy (Jiver); nephrorrhaphy (kidney) |
| Rrhea | Flow, discharge | Leukorrhea (white discharge from vagina); galactorrhea (milk discharge); rhinorrhea (nasal discharge) |
| Rrhexis | Rupture | Enterorrhexis (intestines); metrorrhexis (uterus) |
| Schiz | Split, divide | Schizophrenia (mind split personality); schizonychia (nails); schizotrichia (hair) |
| Scope | Examine | Microscopic; cardioscope; endoscope (endo means within an instrument for examining the interior of a hollow viscus) |
| Stasis | Stop, stand still | Hematostatic (pertaining to stagnation of blood);epistasis (checking or stopping of any discharge) |
| Stazien | Drop | Epistaxis (nosebleed) |
| Teg, tect | Cover | Tegmen; tectum (rooflike structure); integument (skin covering) |
| Therap | Treat, cure | Therapy; neurotherapy (nerves); chemotherapy (chemicals); physiotherapy |
| Tomy | Cut, incise | Phlebotomy (incision of vein); arthrotomy (joint); appendectomy (ectomy, meaning cut out excision of appendix); oophorectomy (excision of ovary); ileocecostomy (ostomy, meaning creation of an artificial opening, and os, pertaining to opening or mouth thus, an anastomosis of ileum and cecum) |
| Topo | Place | Topography;. toponarcosis (numbing hence, numbing of a part, or localized anesthesia |
| Tropho | Nourish | Hypertrophy (enlargement or overnourishment); atrophy (undernourishment); dystrophy (difficult or bad) |
| Volv | Turn | Involution; volvulus (twisting of an organ, intestinal obstruction with twisting of bowel, or twisting of the esophagus) |
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