Tackling The Veterinary Terminology: Prefixes (exo-)

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.

exo- [ˈɛksəʊ] - from Greek - external, outside, outer

I already included a great illustration of an exoskeleton in my earlier post on the prefix endo- where I also compared the two. So let's get directly to examples.

Exogenous is a great example, meaning from external factor(s). In medicine, this would mean things such as toxins, pathogens, carcinogens or therapeutics.

The exocrine glands are glands with external secretion, but this definition is a little misleading.

Endocrine glands secrete their products directly into blood. Their products are typically hormones and they travel through the circulatory system to the places in the body where they exert their effect.

Exocrine glands excrete their products into ducts that carry them to the location where they should be active. Exocrine glands include salivary glands, sweat glands, mammary glands and glands of the gastrointestinal tract.

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The pancreas is a multitasking organ, performing both endocrine (insulin secretion) and exocrine (digestive enzymes production) functions.

Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) is a condition in which the pancreas fails to produce sufficient amounts of digestive enzymes. This doesn't sound half as serious as it really is. Without digestive enzymes, a dog cannot digest their food and without intervention may die a painful death either by starvation or organ failure.

Exophthalmos is a protrusion or bulging of a dog's eyeball out of the socket.

Exostosis, is an uncommonly used term, the condition is better known as osteophytes or bone spurs. It means an abnormal growth of bone or cartilage typically on the outer edge of a structure.

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Tackling The Veterinary Terminology: Prefixes (exo-)

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