pro-
before, in front of
From Greek and Latin pro, before, forward
Meaning
What does pro- mean?
pro- is a prefix meaning before, in front of. It comes from Greek and Latin pro, before, forward.
In blood cell names pro- marks an earlier stage and meta- a later one: promyelocyte, then myelocyte, then metamyelocyte.
In real words
Medical words with pro-
an immature white blood cell in bone marrow, at a stage between a myeloblast and a myelocyte
a cell at a stage of development between a lymphoblast and a mature lymphocyte
relating to prokaryotes, single-celled organisms such as bacteria that lack a nucleus enclosed in a membrane
Don't mix it up
Parts easily confused with pro-
In the dictionary
More terms built with it
Terms in our life science dictionary that list pro- among their word parts.
Sources
Checked against
Written for biofideX in plain words, after checking these references:
- 1.3 Common Prefixes – Medical Terminology 2e
- Prefixes – Medical Terminology: An Interactive Approach
- PRO- Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster
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Time and direction
pro- is one of 10 parts in this lesson. Learn them together, then take real words apart.
Start the Lesson