Gastrectomy is listed as the principle procedure on the surgical report. You know that (-ectomy) means excision or surgical removal. What part of the medical word does "-ectomy" represent?
A. Root
B. Suffix
C. Prefix
D. Combining form
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/-ectomy
The word -ectomy is the suffix. The Prefix is the beginning, suffix is the end. Remember pre is before.
The correct answer is B. Suffix.
In medical terminology, a suffix is a word element added to the end of a word to modify its meaning. In the case of "-ectomy," it is a suffix that represents the surgical removal or excision of a body part or tissue. Specifically, in the word "gastrectomy," the "-ectomy" suffix indicates the removal of the stomach (gastro- refers to the stomach).
To determine the part of the medical word represented by a specific word element like "-ectomy," it is important to understand the concept of affixes in medical terminology. Affixes can be divided into three main categories: prefixes (which are added to the beginning of a word), suffixes (which are added to the end of a word), and combining forms (which are usually derived from roots and are used in the middle of a word).
In this case, since "-ectomy" is added to the end of the word "gastrectomy" and modifies its meaning, it is considered a suffix.