Medical Prefix
oligo-
few, scanty
From Greek oligos, few, little
Meaning
What does oligo- mean?
oligo- is a prefix meaning few, scanty. It comes from Greek oligos, few, little.
Inside words it is spelled olig.
Drops its o before a vowel, as in oliguria; its opposite is poly-, as in polyuria.
In real words
Medical words with oligo-
abnormally low urine output, under about 400 to 500 mL a day in an adult
infrequent or scanty menstrual periods · UK spelling: oligomenorrhoea
arthritis in four or fewer joints, often large ones such as the knee
Don't mix it up
Parts easily confused with oligo-
Sources
Checked against
Written for biofideX in plain words, after checking these references:
- Appendix A: Word Parts and What They Mean
- 1.3: Common Prefixes
- oligo- - Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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Practice it
Numbers and amounts
oligo- is one of 14 parts in this lesson. Learn them together, then take real words apart.
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