The stem, sometimes referred to as the "word root," is the main component of a medical term. It usually indicates the organ or body part being described. All words have a stem, and often, two stem words are combined to describe with even more specificity.
When two stems are combined, inserting a vowel between them may be necessary to aid in pronunciation. This is especially true when the first word ends in a consonant and the second word also begins in a consonant. For example:
- Thermometer = therm+ o +meter
While other vowels may be used occasionally, "o" is the most common. The following pages will outline the major body systems and the associated stems.
