[header] How to understand medical terminology [title] Obtain and use a medical dictionary. [step] The first part of deciphering a medical term is to know the different components of a term. [substeps] Root: the essential meaning of the word. 
Combining form: a root with a vowel attached to it, most commonly the letter o. this vowel is known as the combining vowel because it combines the root with the rest of the term.