Suffixes typically appear at the end of a medical term and most often describe a procedure, condition, or disease. Suffixes related to inflammation and disease include "-itis" (inflammation, as in arthritis, dermatitis, tonsillitis, and appendicitis), "-pathy" (disease or suffering, as in neuropathy and cardiomyopathy), "-iasis" (an abnormal condition, as in cholelithiasis, the formation of gallstones), and "-malacia" (abnormal softening, as in osteomalacia, the softening of bones). Pain is indicated by "-algia" and "-dynia," which are often used interchangeably, as in neuralgia, mastodynia (breast pain), and cephalodynia (head pain). "-emia" refers to a condition of the blood (anemia, septicemia), "-uria" refers to a condition involving urine (hematuria, dysuria, polyuria), and "-pnea" refers to breathing or respiration (dyspnea, apnea, tachypnea).
Surgical suffixes are among the most commonly encountered in clinical practice. "-ectomy" means surgical removal (appendectomy, tonsillectomy), "-ostomy" means the creation of an artificial opening (colostomy, tracheostomy), and "-otomy" means a cutting or surgical incision (tracheotomy, phlebotomy, craniotomy). "-plasty" refers to surgical repair or reconstruction (rhinoplasty, angioplasty), "-pexy" means surgical fixation or suspension (nephropexy, orchiopexy), "-rrhaphy" means surgical suturing (herniorrhaphy, tenorrhaphy), and "-desis" means binding or surgical fusion (arthrodesis, pleurodesis). "-centesis" means surgical puncture or aspiration of a fluid (amniocentesis, thoracentesis), "-tripsy" means crushing or breaking (lithotripsy), and "-lysis" means destruction, breakdown, or separation (hemolysis, dialysis). Masses and tumors are described by "-oma" (carcinoma, hematoma, lipoma), and the formation of blood cells and other products is indicated by "-poiesis" (hematopoiesis, erythropoiesis).
Other suffixes cover measurement, imaging, examination, and various physical states. "-scope" refers to an instrument used to view (endoscope, ophthalmoscope, arthroscope), while "-scopy" refers to the process of viewing or examining (endoscopy, colonoscopy). "-graphy" means the process of recording or producing an image (radiography, angiography), and "-gram" refers to the record or image itself (electrocardiogram, mammogram). "-meter" denotes an instrument used for measuring (thermometer, sphygmomanometer), and "-tome" denotes an instrument used to cut (osteotome, microtome, dermatome). Size and quantity are described by "-megaly" (enlargement, as in hepatomegaly, cardiomegaly, splenomegaly) and "-penia" (deficiency or decrease, as in leukopenia and thrombocytopenia). Flow and rupture are described by "-rrhea" (flow or discharge, as in diarrhea and amenorrhea), "-rrhage" / "-rrhagia" (excessive flow or bursting forth, as in hemorrhage and menorrhagia), and "-rrhexis" (rupture, as in amniorrhexis and cardiorrhexis). Additional suffixes describe paralysis ("-plegia," as in hemiplegia, quadriplegia, monoplegia), involuntary contraction ("-spasm," as in bronchospasm, vasospasm), drooping ("-ptosis," as in blepharoptosis, nephroptosis), speech ("-phasia," as in aphasia, dysphasia), vomiting ("-emesis," as in hematemesis, hyperemesis gravidarum), sensation ("-esthesia," as in paresthesia, anesthesia, hyperesthesia), fear ("-phobia," as in claustrophobia), attraction or affinity ("-phil" / "-philia," as in hemophilia and eosinophilia), hardening of tissue ("-sclerosis," as in arteriosclerosis and multiple sclerosis), splitting or cleft ("-schisis," as in cheiloschisis and palatoschisis), protrusion or hernia ("-cele," as in rectocele and hydrocele), treatment ("-therapy," as in chemotherapy, physiotherapy, radiotherapy), origin or production ("-genesis," as in carcinogenesis and spermatogenesis), immaturity ("-blast," as in osteoblast, neuroblast), and killing or destroying ("-cide," as in bactericide and pesticide).