Tackling The Veterinary Terminology: Prefixes (brady-)

Remember the Spelling Bee? Big words are easier to tackle when you understand how they're put together. Veterinary terms are composed in the same way. Just like with other words, the main parts of a veterinary term are a prefix, a root, and a suffix. The difference is that they typically come more directly from Greek or Latin.

A prefix is placed at the beginning of a word to modify its meaning by providing additional information. It usually indicates number, location, time, or status.

brady- [brā'dē] - from Greek - slow, delayed, tardy

Things in the body are meant to happen at certain speed. The reason for that being that everything needs to happen in sync with the rest of the body,  as well as the body needs to be able to adapt to outside factors.

If you're chased by a mountain lion, you better run fast!

Ideally, you better run faster than he does. Not that I'm an expert on wilderness survival.

Hyperventilation is a good example of what happens when you breathe faster than your body needs. It results in decrease in blood pressure, dizziness and eventually fainting.

If one wheel on your car turned slower than the other, you wouldn't be able to keep your car on a straight path.

In any system, it is important that things are in sync.

Bradycardia is a condition when the dog's heart beats too slow. This means too slow for the body to get the supply of oxygen it needs. The opposite problem is tachycardia, heart rate that is too rapid.

Then there are combinations, such as bradyarrhythmia, heart rhythm that is slow and irregular, or bradycardia-tachycardia syndrome, aka sick sinus syndrome.

Bradypnea, then is slow breathing rate.

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Related articles:
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Veterinary Suffixes (-oma) 
Veterinary Suffixes (-pathy)  
Veterinary Suffixes (-osis) 
Veterinary Suffixes (-iasis) 
Veterinary Suffixes (-tomy) 
Veterinary Suffixes (-ectomy)  
Veterinary Suffixes (-scopy) 
Veterinary Suffixes (-emia)
Veterinary Suffixes (-penia)
Veterinary Suffixes (-rrhea) 
Veterinary Suffixes (-cyte) 
Veterinary Suffixes (-blast) 
Veterinary Suffixes (-opsy)
Veterinary Suffixes (-ac/-al)

Veterinary Prefixes (hyper-) 
Veterinary Prefixes (hypo-)
Veterinary Prefixes (pyo-) 
Veterinary Prefixes (myo-) 
Veterinary Prefixes (myelo-)
Veterinary Prefixes (spondylo-)
Veterinary Prefixes (cardio-) 
Veterinary Prefixes (cervic-) 
Veterinary Prefixes (osteo-) 
Veterinary Prefixes (fibro-) 
Veterinary Prefixes (broncho-) 
Veterinary Prefixes (hemo-)