Video: Anatomical terminology for healthcare professionals | Episode 7 | Respiratory system

There are many things in life that will take your breath away – watching a beautiful sunset, holding your newborn for the first time, receiving your credit card bill after a holiday, someone holding you in a headlock or even looking at Facebook after a night out. Respiratory system terminology, however, need not to be one of those things because we're here to help.

Welcome to episode seven of the Kenhub series, Anatomical Terminology for Healthcare Professionals – taking a breath of fresh air with the respiratory system terminology.

If you watched any of the previous videos in our series, you'll know that instead of helping you to memorize long, complicated, and unpleasant anatomical terms, we like to break them down for you into familiar little chunks which we've been calling prefixes, roots, and suffixes, and once you've mastered these, you can breathe freely instead of breathing into a paper bag.

Remember, you can reinforce your learning by making simple flashcards of all the different terms we encounter today. Just add the word elements on the front and the explanations on the back. Register for free with kenhub.com and make your flashcards even more effective by adding some of our awesome anatomical illustrations found in our atlas.

In clinical practice, there are lots of specific terms related to different parts of the respiratory system. The good news, though, is that they're mostly really straightforward. Let's begin with those related to the upper respiratory tract.

The first root we'll look at has to be 'nas-' or 'nas/o-' with the O at the end which, of course, means the first point of entry in the respiratory system – the nasal cavity. We'll see it pop up in terms like nasoscope – an instrument used to examine the nasal cavity. Another root that also refers to the nose is 'rhin-' or 'rhin/o-' with the O at the end. You've almost definitely heard it used in the term rhinoplasty, perhaps, better known as a nose job.

Next up is 'pharyng-' or 'pharyng/o-' with the O at the end referring to the pharynx. The pharynx in itself is divided into three parts. The first and the last of the segments – the nasopharynx and laryngopharynx – are pretty straightforward. The oropharynx is a bit less obvious. However, as soon as you find out the 'or-' or 'or/o-' with the O comes from the Latin word 'oris' for mouth, it will make perfect sense that oropharynx is located behind the mouth at the level of the tonsils. The root 'pharyng-' or 'pharyng/o-' with the O at the end also pops up in terms like pharyngoxerosis meaning dryness of the pharynx and pharyngomycosis which is a fungal infection of the pharynx.

Now that concludes the upper respiratory tract and we move on to the lower tract.

Here, we have the root 'laryng-' or 'laryng/o-' with the O at the end which, of course, relates to the larynx. It's used in terms like laryngalgia or laryngostenosis, which is narrowing of the larynx. Occasionally, you'll come across terms that look like a random jumble of different roots; however, if you break them down, you'll see they're actually quite simple. For example, nasopharyngolaryngoscope is a flexible endoscope introduced through the nose to examine the pharynx and the larynx. So, although it may twist your tongue, it need not to break your spirit. Now that leads us to trachea and the associated root 'trache-' or 'trache/o-' with the O at the end such as tracheitis or tracheoplasty.

We're now moving into the bronchi and, unsurprisingly, the roots we have here 'bronch-' or 'bronch/o-' with the O at the end or 'bronch-' or 'bronch/i-' with the I at the end, in addition to 'bronchiol-' or 'bronchiol/o-' with the O at the end which refers to smaller branches of bronchi – the bronchioles. They all come from the Greek word 'bronchos' for windpipe and are used in such instances as bronchorrhea which is excessive secretion of mucus in the bronchi or bronchiolectasis which refers to dilation of bronchioles.

We're now moving to 'alveol-' or 'alveol/o-' with the O at the end; of course, refers to the terminal part of the bronchioles, the alveoli. An example is alveolitis which is an inflammation of the alveoli.

We're in the lungs now which are, without a doubt, the best part of the whole respiratory system. We have a few roots related to the lungs too like the Latin-based 'pulm-' or 'pulm/o-' with the O at the end or 'pulmon-' or 'pulmon/o-' with the O at the end, like in intrapulmonary.

We also have the root word 'pneumo-' or 'pneumon-' or 'pneumon/o-' with the O at the end which comes from the Greek word for lung. For instance, pneumomelanosis is the blackening of lung tissue due to inhalation of inorganic particles such as those from smoking. 'Pleur-' or 'pleur/o-' with the O at the end, of course, refers to the pleura covering the lungs. For instance, one can develop a pleurolith or calcified nodule within the pleural cavity.

And, finally, terms related to the respiratory diaphragm often contain the root 'phren-' or 'phren/o-' with the O at the end such as the phrenic nerve or phrenoplegia. 'Phren-' can also refer to conditions of the mind. Of course, you'll also get the more obvious 'diaphragm-' or 'diaphragm/o-' popping up like in diaphragmatic which means related to the diaphragm.

If we're talking about the respiratory system, we can't avoid talking about breathing, right? There is one mighty root which occurs in terminology related to breathing and that is 'spir-' or 'spir/o-' which comes from the Latin word 'spirare' meaning to breathe. It's where we get the term respiration; in addition to the terms, inspiration, the action of breathing in, and expiration or breathing out. You'll also see the root 'spir-' or 'spir/o-' with the O at the end used in clinical practice in terms like spirometer which is an instrument used to measure lung function by recording the amount of air inhaled and exhaled out of the lungs.

Ventilation also refers to breathing. Perhaps the best known example of it is hyperventilation – abnormally fast and deep breathing. It, of course, has a counterpart – hypoventilation – which is slow, shallow breathing. We also have inhalation or breathing in and exhalation or breathing out – united by the Latin origin of their root from the word 'halare' meaning to breathe.

Of course, if there is a Latin word for breathing, we have to have a Greek equivalent, right? I'm talking about the root word '-pnea' such as eupnea which describes the state of normal breathing or apnea which refers to cessation of breathing especially during sleep.

Of course, we can't forget the other function of the respiratory system – making sounds – do, re, mi, sol, la. We have the suffix '-phonia' relating to the voice or sound such as egophony which is a word used to describe odd, broken, high-pitched sound similar to that of a goat. So, obviously, we don't just breathe for nothing. It’s all about the exchange of the gases, oxygen and carbon dioxide, and we have two-word parts here. 'Ox-' or 'ox/o-' with the O at the end, 'oxi-' with an I, or 'oxy-' with a Y are, of course, for our beloved oxygen and they're pretty versatile. Check it out as a prefix in oxyhemoglobin, as a root in hypoxemia and in hypoxia.

For every ying, there is always a yang and the opposite of oxygen-related terms are those related to carbon dioxide. The suffix '-capnia' comes from the Greek term for carbon or smoke and refers to conditions related to the CO2. An example will be acapnia – the absence of carbon dioxide in the blood. A lot of this terminology relates to the cardiovascular system. The gases are carried around the body by blood after all, and don't forget, we have a video dedicated to the cardiovascular system in this series, so go and check it out if you haven't already.

Let's move on to our favorite clinical terminology. That’s what we're here for as healthcare professionals after all.

Continuing with the theme of blood, we have a couple of conditions for you here. Epistaxis comes from the Greek 'epistazein' and simply means nosebleed. Hemoptysis is a term which means coughing and spitting up blood or bloody sputum from the trachea, bronchi, or lungs as what may occur with inflammation or cancer of these organs. First is hemothorax, simply meaning blood in the pleural cavity. In contrast, pneumothorax is accumulation of air in the pleural cavity. The pleural cavity refers to the space between the lungs and the chest wall.

And, moving on, we have some general medical terminology for you. Would you like to have a guess what tussis stands for? Well, it might surprise you this fun little word stands for a simple cough. You'll see it pop up in words like pertussis – the term for an infection disease commonly known as whooping cough. Ronchus is the abnormal low pitch rattling sound heard in the lungs due to obstruction of the airways; for example, due to excess secretions. Stridor, on the other hand, is the harsh, high-pitched sound of inhalation or exhalation due to obstructed airways. Atelectasis is the term for partially or fully collapsed lung. Pulmonary edema refers to accumulation of fluid in the lungs.

Then we have respiratory infections. Obviously, we can't not mention influenza, of course, more commonly known as flu, caused by the influenza virus. Tuberculosis – again, a very well-known contagious infectious disease mostly affecting the lungs caused by tubercle bacillus or Mycobacterium tuberculosis – get its name from the bacterial nodules or lumps which form in the lungs due to this condition. Then we have pneumonia, which is an infection of the lungs caused by a wide range of factors – bacteria, fungi, parasites, amoebae, and viruses such as the influenza virus.

And, of course, we have the chronic pulmonary diseases that we need to talk about. Asthma might just be the best known chronic disease of the airways. It periodically causes the airways to spasm and narrow leaving the individual breathless and the airways much more sensitive to various irritants. Emphysema is a chronic respiratory disease where the overinflation of alveoli causes weakened lung function.

We also have pneumoconiosis, an umbrella term generally describing occupational diseases caused by chronic inhalation of particles. The diseases can be specified by the type of particle inhaled. Some are pretty obvious such as asbestosis or silicosis. Others are not so easy to figure out like anthracosis, which is a disease caused by inhalation of coal dust; probably know it as Miner’s lung.

Now to finish up, let's have a quick round of some respiratory system abbreviations. COPD is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. We have URTI stands for upper respiratory tract infection. ARDS is acute respiratory distress syndrome. And, finally, you might see CXR on the medical charts. It stands for chest x-ray.

And that wraps up this video on the terminology of the respiratory system. Hope you didn't get too out of breath trying to keep up.

Before we finish up, here's a little challenge for you. Try to figure out what these terms might mean.