PHAR 5201: Applied Medical Terminology

Course Description

This course will help students recognize medical abbreviations, relate terms to procedures and diagnostics, comprehend the meaning of medical terminology by using word elements, and apply medical terms in the context of patient care. Communication related to disease states, procedures, and diagnostics in health care can sometimes seem like another language. During this course, students will not only increase their medical vocabulary by more than 2500 words at your own pace, they will also learn to identify and articulately describe a wide variety of medical conditions and processes.

Special Textbook Information:

An online version of the required textbook for this course is automatically provided, at a cost of $75.50, to all students enrolled in the course. Students will receive access to the textbook and Connect website directly through the Canvas course site, which will be available approximately one week before the course starts each semester. The $75.50 fee will be directly billed to students' accounts two weeks after the semester starts. Students should not independently purchase the textbook.

Objectives

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:

  • Identify, define, and spell prefixes, suffixes, root words, combining forms, medical terms, and abbreviations
  • Construct medical terms by using word elements
  • Name and define terms of selected structures, systems, functions, and conditions of the body
  • Relate terms to disorders, pathologies, surgical operations, diagnostics, and therapeutic procedures and interventions
  • Restate medical terms to aid in complex patient education
  • Explain, interpret, and apply medical terms and abbreviations in the context of a patient case

Topics

  • Roots and Combining Forms
  • Suffixes and Prefixes
  • Word Analysis and Communication
  • The Body as a Whole
  • Digestive System
  • Urinary System
  • Male Reproductive System
  • Female Reproductive System
  • Nervous System
  • Cardiovascular System
  • Blood
  • Lymphatic and Immune System
  • Respiratory System
  • Musculoskeletal System
  • Integumentary System
  • Special Senses of the Eye and Ear
  • Endocrine System
  • Mental Health
  • Geriatrics
  • Cancer (Oncology)
  • Radiology and Nuclear Medicine
  • Pharmacology