COBGC Medical Terminology 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What does the suffix '-rrhea' mean in OB/GYN terminology?
- Surgical removal
- Flow or discharge (Correct answer)
- Inflammation
- Rupture
Correct answer: Flow or discharge
'-rrhea' means flow or discharge, as seen in terms like menorrhea (menstrual flow) and leukorrhea (white vaginal discharge).
Question 2: The term 'metrorrhagia' refers to:
- Absence of menstruation
- Uterine bleeding between periods (Correct answer)
- Excessive menstrual flow
- Painful menstruation
Correct answer: Uterine bleeding between periods
'Metro-' refers to the uterus and '-rrhagia' means abnormal bleeding, so metrorrhagia is uterine bleeding occurring at irregular intervals.
Question 3: Which prefix means 'before' or 'in front of' in OB/GYN terms such as 'antepartum'?
- Post-
- Ante- (Correct answer)
- Peri-
- Retro-
Correct answer: Ante-
'Ante-' means before, as in antepartum (before delivery) and antecubital (in front of the elbow).
Question 4: What does 'colposcopy' involve?
- Surgical repair of the vagina
- Visual examination of the cervix and vagina (Correct answer)
- Removal of cervical polyps
- Biopsy of the uterine lining
Correct answer: Visual examination of the cervix and vagina
'Colpo-' means vagina and '-scopy' means visual examination, so colposcopy is examination of the vagina and cervix using a colposcope.
Question 5: The medical term 'oligohydramnios' describes a condition involving:
- Excess amniotic fluid
- Decreased amniotic fluid (Correct answer)
- Infection of amniotic fluid
- Premature rupture of amniotic membranes
Correct answer: Decreased amniotic fluid
'Oligo-' means few or scant and 'hydramnios' refers to amniotic fluid, so oligohydramnios means abnormally low levels of amniotic fluid.
Question 6: What does the term 'placenta previa' literally indicate in its Latin roots?
- Placenta that has separated prematurely
- Placenta going before (covering the cervix) (Correct answer)
- Placenta attached to the posterior wall
- Placenta with abnormal blood vessels
Correct answer: Placenta going before (covering the cervix)
'Previa' comes from Latin 'praevius' meaning going before, indicating the placenta precedes the baby by covering the cervical os.
Question 7: In OB/GYN coding, the term 'endometriosis' is built from which word parts?
- endo (within) + metr (uterus) + iosis (abnormal condition) (Correct answer)
- endo (outside) + metr (uterus) + itis (inflammation)
- endo (within) + metr (measure) + osis (normal process)
- endo (between) + metr (uterus) + osis (tumor)
Correct answer: endo (within) + metr (uterus) + iosis (abnormal condition)
Endometriosis = endo (within) + metr/o (uterus) + -osis (abnormal condition), describing endometrial tissue found outside the uterus.
COBGC Medical Terminology 2
What does the suffix '-rrhea' mean in OB/GYN terminology?