-itis
inflammation
From Greek -itis, feminine adjective ending (with nosos, disease, implied)
Meaning
What does -itis mean?
-itis is a suffix meaning inflammation. It comes from Greek -itis, feminine adjective ending (with nosos, disease, implied).
The combining vowel drops before it: hepat/o + -itis is hepatitis, not hepatoitis.
In real words
Medical words with -itis
a disease that causes inflammation and pain in the joints
inflammation of the liver · In the dictionary
gastroenteritis
inflammation of the stomach and intestines, often from infection, causing vomiting and diarrhea
appendicitis
inflammation of the appendix · In the dictionary
inflammation of the ear; otitis media affects the middle ear and otitis externa the outer ear canal
inflammation of the colon
inflammation of the ileum, the last part of the small intestine
inflammation of the aorta
Don't mix it up
Parts easily confused with -itis
In the dictionary
More terms built with it
Terms in our life science dictionary that list -itis among their word parts.
Sources
Checked against
Written for biofideX in plain words, after checking these references:
- 1.5 Common Suffixes – Medical Terminology 2e
- 1.4 – Suffix – Building a Medical Terminology Foundation 2e
- -ITIS Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster
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Disease and symptoms
-itis is one of 15 parts in this lesson. Learn them together, then take real words apart.
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