What's Otorhinolaryngology?

As a medical transcriptionist you will often see words that are strange, spelled funny and that you have no idea what they mean. But you'll have to put them into context, ensure they are spelled correctly and make sure that the sentence in which they are found makes sense. How do you do that?

First, you should separate the root word from the prefixes and suffixes. Start with what you know. We'll take the word "otorhinolaryngology" as an example. The root words break down this way:

• Oto
• Rhino
• Laryng
• Ology

Do you recognize any of those words? Chances are you do.

"Ology", for instance, is a word that you should be familiar with. A lot of medical terms end with these two syllables. It's a greek word that means the study of. Any time you see "ology" you should automatically know that we are discussing the study of something. An "ologist" is a person who studies.

Now, let's work backwards.

• "Laryng" is a root word in Greek that means "throat". Any time you see "laryng", "larynx" or a variation of this root you should think "throat." Laryngology is the study of the throat.
• "Rhino" is a root word meaning "sinus", or "nose". Rhinitis is the condition of having a stuffy nose. Rhinology is the study of the nose or sinus conditions.
• "Oto" is a root word for "ear." Otology is the study of the ear, or ear conditions.

So let's put all that together. Oto = ear; rhino = nose; laryng = throat; ology = study of. All of that spells the study of the ear, nose and throat.

So an otorhinolaryngologist is a person who studies medical conditions related to the ear, nose and throat. If you have allergies that affect your sinuses then chances are you've seen an otorhinolaryngologist.

The branch of medicine is one of many that has a need for medical transcriptionists to prepare medical records on an ongoing basis.