Medical Terminology
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99 free Medical Terminology trivia questions with answers — science & nature quiz, new questions added Oct 2026.
51 free medical terminology trivia questions with answers. This medical terminology quiz is a vocabulary workout built from the Greek and Latin pieces that medicine is assembled from. It covers the suffixes that name procedures and problems (-itis, -ectomy, -ostomy, -plasty, -rrhaphy, -centesis, -megaly, -penia), the prefixes that set the dial (hyper-, hypo-, brady-, tachy-, dys-, peri-, endo-), the roots for organs and tissues (hepat-, nephr-, cholecyst-, myel-, blephar-, onych-), the colours and quantities (cyan-, erythr-, oligo-, poly-), the anatomical direction words (proximal, distal, medial, contralateral, the sagittal plane), the Latin behind prescription shorthand (stat, PRN, NPO, BID, PO, gtt), and the everyday clinical words that get misused (acute, idiopathic, iatrogenic, nosocomial, benign, prognosis, palliative). About a third of the questions are ones anyone who watches hospital dramas can get; the middle third suits a nursing, pre-med or medical-coding student; the last third will test people who use these words for a living. Multiple choice, instant scoring, and a one-line explanation that adds an example or an origin after each answer. Every answer has been checked against Wikipedia's medical-roots tables and related reference pages, and each question shows its source once you have answered.
30 of 99 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01The suffix -itis, as in tonsillitis and appendicitis, means what?
Inflammation
Inflammation and infection are not the same thing: an inflamed joint in arthritis usually has no germ in it at all.
Q 02A mastectomy, appendectomy or tonsillectomy all involve what?
Surgical removal
Surgical removal of both breasts was Angelina Jolie's choice in 2013, after tests showed a faulty BRCA1 gene gave her a high risk of breast cancer.
Q 03A colostomy or tracheostomy involves surgically creating what?
An opening
An opening called a stoma, from the Greek for mouth, is often only temporary: once the bowel beyond it has rested and healed, surgeons can reverse it.
Q 04Rhinoplasty and arthroplasty share the suffix -plasty, meaning what?
Surgical repair or formation
Surgical repair or formation is the sense, from the Greek for moulding, so plastic surgery got its name about 70 years before plastic the material did.
Q 05Myalgia is pain in which tissue?
Muscle
Muscle soreness felt days after hard exercise is not lactic acid at work: researchers have found little link between lactate levels and that later pain.
Q 06What does the suffix -emia, as in anemia, septicemia and leukemia, refer to?
A blood condition
A blood condition is the sense, and leukemia literally means 'white blood', named for the abnormal white cells that build up in a patient's blood.
Q 07Sarcoma, lipoma and teratoma share the suffix -oma, meaning what?
A tumour, mass or fluid pocket
A tumour, mass or fluid pocket takes -oma: benign growths carry it alone, as in lipoma, yet melanoma, a cancer, confusingly carries it too.
Q 08Splenomegaly and cardiomegaly describe an organ that is what?
Enlarged
Enlarged spleens are why people with glandular fever are told to avoid contact sports: a swollen spleen can rupture.
Q 09A colonoscopy, endoscopy or arthroscopy is an examination performed how?
With a viewing instrument inside
With a viewing instrument inside the bowel, doctors can also snip out polyps through the same scope during the test, with no open surgery.
Q 10Diarrhea and rhinorrhea share a suffix meaning what?
Flow or discharge
Flow or discharge is the sense, and diarrhea's fluid loss causes dehydration, which a cheap drink of clean water, sugar and salt treats.
Q 11Dyspnea, apnea and tachypnea all describe some aspect of what?
Breathing
Breathing that repeatedly stops and starts during sleep is sleep apnea, and many patients sleep with a CPAP machine pumping air into a mask.
Q 12What does the suffix -penia, as in leukopenia and thrombocytopenia, indicate?
A deficiency
A deficiency of white blood cells, which chemotherapy can cause, leaves patients more open to infections, since those cells are the body's main defence.
Q 13Amniocentesis and thoracentesis share the suffix -centesis, which describes what procedure?
Puncturing to draw off fluid
Q 21Which prefix means 'below normal', as in dangerously low body temperature or blood pressure?
Hypo-
Hypo- is the prefix, and people dying of hypothermia sometimes strip off their clothes despite the cold, a behaviour known as paradoxical undressing.
Q 22The prefix dys-, as in dysentery and dyslexia, means what?
Bad, difficult or abnormal
Bad, difficult or abnormal is the sense, as in dyslexia, a difficulty with reading that does not affect intelligence.
Q 23What does the prefix peri-, as in pericardium, mean?
Around
Around the heart, the pericardium can fill with fluid and squeeze it, a dangerous condition called cardiac tamponade.
Puncturing to draw off fluid is how amniocentesis works: a thin needle draws amniotic fluid so the baby can be checked for genetic conditions.
Q 14What does the surgical suffix -rrhaphy, as in herniorrhaphy, mean?
Suturing or stitching
Suturing or stitching alone can leave tissue under tension, and tense repairs recur more often, so most hernia operations now add a sheet of mesh.
Q 15Lithotripsy, a treatment for kidney stones, literally means what?
Stone crushing
Stone crushing can now be done from outside the body: in the commonest method, shock waves shatter kidney stones into pieces that pass out in urine.
Q 16Arthrodesis is a procedure that does what to a joint?
Fuses or binds it
Fuses or binds it for good: the bones grow into one, so the joint becomes much less painful but can no longer move.
Q 17Osteomalacia is a condition in which bone becomes what?
Softened
Softened bones in children are called rickets rather than osteomalacia, usually caused by too little vitamin D or calcium, and the main sign is bowed legs.
Q 18Hemiplegia is paralysis affecting how much of the body?
One half
One half of the body is affected, and one stroke therapy restrains the stronger arm so the patient is forced to use the weaker one.
Q 19Dysphagia, not to be confused with dysphasia, affects which everyday ability?
Swallowing
Swallowing problems matter because food or drink can go the wrong way into the lungs and cause aspiration pneumonia.
Q 20Bradycardia and tachycardia describe a heart that is beating how?
Slowly and fast, respectively
Slowly and fast, respectively, yet a slow heart is not always a problem: trained athletes often have one because their hearts pump more efficiently.
Q 24What does the prefix oligo- mean, as in oliguria or the political term oligarchy?
Few or little
Few or little is the sense, and oliguria, passing too little urine, can be a sign of dehydration.
Q 25Hepatology, hepatitis and hepatocyte all concern which organ?
The liver
The liver can regrow after part of it is removed, which is why a living donor can give a portion of theirs for transplant.
Q 26A cholecystectomy removes which organ?
The gallbladder
The gallbladder is most often removed because gallstones cause repeated bouts of severe pain.
Q 27The root myel-, as in myeloma and myelin, refers to which two structures?
Bone marrow and the spinal cord
Bone marrow and the spinal cord share this root, and in multiple sclerosis the immune system attacks myelin, the insulating cover of nerve cells.
Q 28Blepharoplasty, often done as cosmetic surgery, operates on which part of the body?
The eyelids
The eyelids are not only a cosmetic target: sagging upper-lid skin can be removed to restore vision that it blocks.
Q 29Onychophagy is the medical name for what habit?
Nail biting
Nail biting is often tackled with a clear, bitter-tasting nail polish, which makes chewing the nails unpleasant.
Q 30Which colour does the root cyan(o)- denote, as in cyanosis, the tinge of oxygen-starved lips?
Blue
Erythr- is red (erythrocyte, a red blood cell), leuk- is white (leukocyte), melan- is black (melanin) and chlor- is green (chlorophyll).