A nursing assistant reading a patient chart noticed that the patient was diagnosed with bronchitis. Using a knowledge of prefixe
s, root words, and suffixes, the nursing assistant knew bronchitis is an inflammation of the air passages to the lungs.
a hardening of the heart.
a prolapsed stomach.
an enlargement of the spleen.
Answer: an inflammation of the air passages to the lungs.
Bronchitis came from the root word bronchi that can be seen in the lungs and a suffix of “tis” attached to it, which means an inflammation.
Therefore, bronchitis is an inflammation of the mucous membrane in the air passages or bronchial tubes of the lungs that usually causes bronchospasm and coughing.
Moreover, prefixes, root words and suffixes are building blocks derived from Latin or Greek to construct medical terms.
