Word Parts for Cells, Tissues and Organs

The human being is arguably the most complex organism on earth. Imagine there are billions of microscopic parts working together in some organized way, each with its own identity and each with its own purpose. Despite the fact that the human body is one structure, it is made up of billions of smaller structures in four major groups namely the cells, tissues, organs and the systems.

Cells are the smallest unit in the hierarchy of structures, followed by tissues, organs, and finally the systems.

This quiz will teach you the most commonly used word parts related to Cells, Tissues, and Organs.

Quick Review for the Quiz
Combining Form Meaning Example Word
aden/o gland adenoma
cyt/o cell cytolysis
fibr/o fiber fibroma
gluc/o sugar glucocorticoid
hydr/o water hydrocephalus
kary/o nucleus karyocyte
lip/o fat lipoma
morph/o form amorphous
myx/o mucus myxoma
phil/o attraction paraphilia
plas/o formation hyperplasia
reticul/o network reticulocyte
somat/o body somatotype
steat/o fat steatitis
troph/o feeding or nourishment trophoblast
Prefix Meaning Example Word
phag(o)- eating or devouring phagocyte
trop(o)- turn or reaction tropomyosin
Suffix Meaning Example Word
-ase enzyme cholinesterase
-blast immature cell osteoblast
-some body lysosome

  • Question of

    Find the combining form.

    • hydr/o
    • trop/o
    • lip/o
    • fibr/o

    Correct Wrong

    hydr/o is a combining form that pertains to water.

  • Question of

    Find the prefix.

    • phag(o)-
    • hom(o)-
    • orth(o)-
    • pseud(o)-

    Correct Wrong

    phag(o)- is a prefix that means “eating” or “devouring”. Take the word phago/cyte. Phago- means “to devour”, -cyte is a suffix that refers to “cell”. Phagocytes are cells that help cleanse the body by ingesting harmful foreign particles, bacteria, and dead or dying cells.

  • Question of

    Find the suffix.

    • -blast
    • -acusis
    • -malacia
    • -cyesis

    Correct Wrong

    -blast is a suffix that means “immature cell”. Take the word oste/o/blast. Oste/o is a combining form that means “bone”, -blast refers to “immature cell”. Osteoblasts are the cells that form bone.

  • Question of

    Find the meaning of the combining form.

    • form
    • body
    • mucus
    • feeding

    Correct Wrong

    morph/o is a combining form that means “form”. Take the word a/morph/ous; a- is a prefix that means “absent”, morpho is a word root that refers to “form”, and -ous is a suffix that means “pertaining to”. Amorphous refers to the absence of shape or form.

  • Question of

    Find the combining form.

    • cyt/o
    • fibr/o
    • gluc/o
    • aden/o

    Correct Wrong

    The combining form cyt/o means “cell”.

  • Question of

    Find the meaning of the combining form.

    • nucleus
    • formation
    • mucus
    • form

    Correct Wrong

    kary/o is a combining form that means “nucleus”.

  • Question of

    Find the combining form.

    • fibr/o
    • lip/o
    • cyt/o
    • phag/o

    Correct Wrong

    fibr/o is a combining form that means “fiber”. (Image shows a cross section of a muscle fiber.)

  • Question of

    Find the meaning of the combining form.

    • network
    • nucleus
    • form
    • formation

    Correct Wrong

    reticul/o is a combining form that means “network”. Take the word reticul/o/cyte. Reticul/o means “network”, -cyte is a suffix that pertains to “cell”. A reticulocyte is an immature red blood cell that has a reticular network of RNA.

  • Question of

    Find the combining form.

    • aden/o
    • hydr/o
    • fibr/o
    • trop/o

    Correct Wrong

    The combining form aden/o means “gland”.

  • Question of

    Find the meaning of the combining form.

    • mucus
    • fatty
    • formation
    • enzyme

    Correct Wrong

    myx/o is a combining form that means “mucus”. Take for example myx/oma. Myx is a word root that means mucus, and -oma is a suffix that pertains to “tumor”. Myxomas are tumors composed of primitive connective tissues and mucin.

  • Question of

    Find the combining form

    • somat/o
    • cyt/o
    • phag/o
    • -blast

    Correct Wrong

    The combining form somat/o means “body”. Somatotypes refer to different types of form and physical characteristics and are categorized as ectomorphic, endomorphic, and mesomorphic.

  • Question of

    Find the meaning of the combining form.

    • attraction
    • feeding
    • fatty
    • form

    Correct Wrong

    phil/o is a combining form that means “attraction”. Take the word para/phil/ia; the prefix para- used in this word means “abnormal” (para- can also refer to near or opposite) , phil is a word root that means “attraction”, and -ia is a suffix that pertains to “condition”. Paraphilia is an abnormal sexual attraction, especially to objects or situations that are not sexual in nature.

  • Question of

    Find the prefix.

    • trop(o)-
    • phag(o)-
    • orth(o)-
    • pseud(o)-

    Correct Wrong

    trop(o)- is a prefix that means “turn” or “reaction”. Take the word tropo/myos/in. Tropo- means “turn”, myos is a word root that refers to “cells” and -in is a suffix that indicates a “organic compound like (protein)”. Tropomyosin is an actin-based cytoskeleton protein with a coil structure that is involved in muscle contraction.

  • Question of

    Find the meaning of the combining form.

    • feeding
    • body
    • nucleus
    • attract

    Correct Wrong

    troph/o is a combining form that means “feeding” or “nourishment”. Take the word troph/o/blast; troph/o- means “nourishment”, -blast is a suffix that pertains to “immature cell”. A trophoblast is a membrane of cells that forms the wall of an embryo during early pregnancy, providing nutrients and later forming a placenta.

  • Question of

    Find the meaning of the combining form.

    • formation
    • feeding
    • network
    • fatty

    Correct Wrong

    The combining form plas/o means “formation”, “molding” or “development”. Example is the word hyper/plas/ia; hyper- is a prefix that means “high” or “over”, plas is a word root that means “formation” and -ia is a suffix that pertain to “condition”. The term hyperplasia refers to the proliferation of cells within organs or tissues. When this occurs, the organ or tissue gets bigger.

  • Question of

    Find the meaning of the suffix.

    • body
    • nucleus
    • attract
    • network

    Correct Wrong

    The suffix -some pertains “body”. Example is the word lys/o/some, lys/o is a combining form that means “lysis” (destruction), and -some pertains to “body”. A lysosome is an organelle found in cells that contains a wide range of digestive enzymes that can dissolve nearly all macromolecules in the body.

  • Question of

    Find the meaning of the suffix.

    • enzyme
    • nucleus
    • fatty
    • formation

    Correct Wrong

    -ase is a suffix that pertains to “enzyme”. Take the word cholin/ester/ase. Cholin is a word root for “choline”, ester is another word root that means “ester” and -ase refers to an “enzyme”. An enzyme called cholinesterase is responsible for hydrolyzing choline-based esters.

  • Question of

    Find the combining form.

    • lip/o
    • trop/o
    • phag/o
    • -blast

    Correct Wrong

    lip/o is a combining form that pertains to “fat”. Take the word lip/oma. Lip is a word root that means “fat”, -oma is a suffix that means “tumor”. Lipoma is a nonmalignant tumor consisting of fat cells.

  • Question of

    Find the meaning of the combining form.

    • fat
    • form
    • enzyme
    • mucus

    Correct Wrong

    steat/o is a combining form that means “fat”. For example is the word steat/itis. Steat is a word root that means “fat”, -itis is a suffix that means “inflammation”. Steatitis is an inflammation of the fatty tissues.

  • Question of

    Find the combining form.

    • gluc/o
    • lip/o
    • cyt/o
    • aden/o

    Correct Wrong

    gluc/o is a combining form that means “sugar” or “glucose”. For example is the word gluc/o/cortic/oid. Gluc/o is a combining form that means “sugar”, cortic is another word root that pertains to “adrenal cortex” and -oid is a suffix that means “resembling”. The term glucocorticoid refers to any member of a group of steroid hormones, produced by the adrenal cortex, that play a role in metabolism and anti-inflammatory actions.