Medical Terminology – Module 5 – Medical Specialties

MEDICAL SPECIALTIES

After a patient has received the initial

treatment for a medical problem, he or she
is often referred to a specialist in some area
for ongoing medical treatment. In this
section, we’ll review some medical terms
which apply to medical specialists in various
fields.

Menu
Slide 1 of 15
 Medical Terminology – Module 5 – Medical Specialties

Medical
Specialties
Cardiologist We’ll begin with some
Dermatologist easy ones. Most of you
Neurologist can identify these
Otologist based on the medical
Rheumatologist
terms you just learned.

Can you easily define

each of the following
types of specialists?

Menu
Slide 2 of 15
 Medical Terminology – Module 5 – Medical Specialties

Make a Match

LEGEND
A. Skin Specialist
Cardiologist A B C D E B. Ear Specialist
C. Heart Specialist
Dermatologist A B C D E D. Specialist in diseases
of the nerves
Neurologist A B C D E E. Specialist in diagnosis
and treatment of
Otologist A B C D E
diseases of the
joints,muscles and
Rheumatologist A B C D E
bones.

Menu
Slide 3 of 15
 Medical Terminology – Module 5 – Medical Specialties

SUFFIXES
Ophthamologist
Ology – study or science of
You probably noticed that all
of the specialist names in
the preceding frame ended
in the suffix ologist, which
comes from the Greek term,
“ology”.
For example, cardiology is
the study or science of the
heart.

Changing the “gy” to “gist” changes the

meaning to one who studies or one who
specializes. So, a cardiologist is someone who
studies or specializes in the heart.

Menu
Slide 4 of 15
Medical Terminology – Module 5 – Medical Specialties

ROOT WORDS

Ophthalmos - eye
What if we gave you
this root word…..

Menu
Slide 5 of 15
 Medical Terminology – Module 5 – Medical Specialties

Pick a Box

Based on the previous page, which one of these terms below

means eye specialist?

Ophthamologist Otologist Cardiologist

Menu
Slide 6 of 15
 Medical Terminology – Module 5 – Medical Specialties

Neuro -
nerve
Neuropsychiatrist
A Neuropsychiatrist is a
physician who specializes in
the treatment of people with
neurologic illness and cognitive,
emotional, or behavioural
problems.

Menu
Slide 7 of 15
 Medical Terminology – Module 5 – Medical Specialties

Oncologist
The word
oncologist is PREFIXES
derived from the
Greek prefix. Onco – tumor, swelling, mass, bulk

Although the prefix onco

technically refers to any type of
tumor, swelling or mass, it is
commonly used to specifically
describe cancerous tumors.

Menu
Slide 8 of 15
 Medical Terminology – Module 5 – Medical Specialties

ROOT WORDS

Pathologist Pathos - disease

You may see references

in medical reports and
claims to the pathology
of a disease. The word is
derived from the
following Greek term…

Menu
Slide 9 of 15
Medical Terminology – Module 5 – Medical Specialties

Internist
Another medical
specialty you may
see frequently is
internist.

ROOT WORDS

Intern - inside An internist is a physician who

specializes in internal medicine,
treating diseases of the internal
organs by nonsurgical means.

Menu
Slide 10 of 15
 Medical Terminology – Module 5 – Medical Specialties

Choose the Correct Statement

A Neuropsych
Treats people with neurologic illness and cognitive, emotional, or behavioural
problems. A

The major cognitive domains typically assessed in a neuropsych examination

include: attention, memory, intelligence, language, visuoperception, visual-
spatial thinking, psychosensory, motor abilities, frontal lobe or executive
B
functions, academic achievement, and personally or emotional functions

An Internist
Treating diseases of the internal organs through surgical treatment A

Treating diseases of the internal organs through non-surgical treatment B

Treating diseases of the internal organs through a combination of surgical C

and non-surgical treatment

Menu
Slide 11 of 15
 Medical Terminology – Module 5 – Medical Specialties

Orthopedist
ROOT WORDS
The last medical specialist Orthos – straight
we’ll discuss is an
orthopedist. The term is a
combination of the Greek
words.

Menu
Slide 12 of 15
 Medical Terminology – Module 5 – Medical Specialties

Physical And Occupational

Therapists
Two other specialists you’ll encounter in
your work are not physicians, but
medically trained persons who assist in
the rehabilitation process. They are
physical therapists and Occupational
Therapists.

Menu
Slide 13 of 15
 Medical Terminology – Module 5 – Medical Specialties

Physical And
Occupational
ROOT WORDS
Therapists
Therapist – one A physical therapist treats disease
who offers through the use of physical agents
treatment such as massage, heat,radiation,
water,electricity, and exercise.
An occupational therapist takes into
consideration elements of the
patient’s life – not just the disease
elements – in evaluating and helping
plan work, play and self-care
activities to treat the physically or
emotionally ill person and to prevent
or minimize disability.

Menu
Slide 14 of 15
 Medical Terminology – Module 5 – Medical Specialties

Great Job
You made it through MEDICAL SPECIALTIES.
Now let’s proceed to the next part of the
course which is the final section; MEDICAL
USAGE.
Click below to return to the web page
and continue with the course.

Menu
Slide 15 of 15