Blood and its components in English terminology
Blood is a continuously circulating fluid that provides tissues with nutrients and oxygen, and removes metabolic waste products. About half of the blood volume consists of plasma, the liquid part that contains clotting proteins and transports various substances.
The second half of the volume is formed by blood cells:
- Red blood cells (erythrocytes) transport oxygen to tissues;
- White blood cells (leukocytes) provide defense against infections;
- Platelets (thrombocytes) are small cells involved in blood clotting.
To denote anything related to blood, the English language uses the roots and prefixes haem-, haemo-, haemato-, haem-. Recognizing them allows you to quickly determine whether a term belongs to hematology.
Prefixes in hematological terms
- a- — absence of something: agranulocytosis — absence of granulocytes;
- an- — without: anaemia — literally "without blood";
- pan- — all, complete: pancytopenia — decrease in the number of all cell lines;
- micro- — small: microcytosis — small erythrocytes;
- macro- — large: macrocytosis — large erythrocytes;
- normo- — normal: normocytosis;
- iso- — equal, identical; in combination with an-: anisocytosis — erythrocytes of unequal size;
- hyper- and hypo- — increased and decreased level, respectively.
Suffixes describing blood pathology
- -aemia — blood condition: anaemia, bacteraemia, leukaemia;
- -blast — immature cell: erythroblast — immature erythrocyte;
- -cytosis — increase in cell count: leukocytosis, thrombocytosis;
- -globin — protein: haemoglobin — blood protein;
- -penia — deficiency, lack: thrombocytopenia, leukopenia;
- -ptysis — spitting: haemoptysis — coughing up blood.
Main nosological terms
Anaemia — deficiency of hemoglobin and erythrocytes. Anisocytosis — unequal size of erythrocytes. Bacteraemia — bacterial blood infection, a severe condition often requiring hospitalization.
Haemochromatosis — excessive iron deposition in tissues. Haemophilia — hereditary coagulopathy with factor VIII or IX deficiency, in which a proper fibrin clot does not form and bleeding continues. Leukaemia — increase in the number of malignantly altered leukocytes.
Conditions with a decreased cell count
- Leukopenia — decrease in leukocyte count;
- Granulocytopenia (synonym agranulocytosis) — acute and dangerous decrease in the number of granulocytes;
- Erythropenia — decrease in the number of erythrocytes;
- Thrombocytopenia — low platelet count in the blood.
Combinations of hyper-/hypo- with -aemia
Knowing the prefixes hyper- (increased) and hypo- (decreased) in combination with the suffix -aemia allows you to construct and understand a large number of biochemical terms:
- Hyperglycaemia — high blood glucose level;
- Hypoglycaemia — low blood glucose level;
- Hypocalcaemia — decreased serum calcium level;
- Hypercalcaemia — elevated blood calcium level;
- Hypothrombinaemia — abnormally low blood thrombin level.
This modular structure of English medical terms makes them predictable: the meaning of a word is revealed through the sum of the meanings of its parts.
Key points
- The roots haem-/haemo-/haemato- indicate that the term is related to blood.
- Blood consists of plasma and cells: erythrocytes, leukocytes, and platelets.
- The prefixes a-, an-, pan-, micro-, macro-, iso-, hyper-, hypo- define the nature of the change.
- The suffix -aemia means a blood condition, -penia means deficiency, and -cytosis means an increase in cell count.
- Anaemia, leukaemia, haemophilia, haemochromatosis, bacteraemia are basic nosological units.
- Leukopenia, erythropenia, thrombocytopenia, agranulocytosis reflect a decrease in cell populations.
- Combinations of hyper-/hypo- + substance + -aemia describe an increased or decreased level of a substance in the blood.
- Understanding word-building elements is more important than memorizing ready-made terms.