Last Updated on February 2, 2025
HOSA Medical Terminology Practice Test 2025 Official Study Guide [PDF]. Try our free Medical Terminology Questions and Answers online mock test. You can also download the HOSA Medical Terminology Practice Test as a printable PDF.
Overview of HOSA and the Medical Terminology Event
HOSA—Future Health Professionals (formerly Health Occupations Students of America)—is an international student organization focused on developing leadership and technical skills for students interested in healthcare. Among HOSA’s many competitive events is Medical Terminology, an individual event that tests a student’s knowledge of medical vocabulary critical for success in healthcare.
HOSA Medical Terminology Practice Test 2025
HOSA Written Test 2025
The written test will consist of 100 multiple-choice items in a maximum of 90 minutes. Twenty (20) tiebreaker questions will be administered with the original test. The test plan for the Medical Terminology Test is:
●Roots, Prefixes, Suffixes, and Combining Forms – 45%
● Overview of Body – 5%
● Skeletal – 5%
● Muscular – 5%
● Respiratory – 5%
● Digestive – 5%
● Cardiovascular & Lymphatic – 5%
● Nervous/Special Senses – 5%
● Endocrine – 5%
● Reproductive – 5%
● Integumentary – 5%
● Urinary – 5%
What is Medical Terminology?
Medical terminology is the language used by medical professionals worldwide. It is universal to the medical and healthcare industry as it helps providers to completely understand what help a patient needs, or what is happening to the patient. Nurses, doctors, medical professionals, and medical students must know this language.
Nowadays, with new medical professionals entering the industry, such as medical coders or transcriptionists, and medical billers, learning medical terms is even more important. There is a high risk of improper management due to miscommunication between medical workers and patients, which can occur if workers do not know or use the correct medical terms.
Understanding Medical Terms
The majority of medical terms are made up of multiple parts. Breaking them apart makes it easier to understand single, long words. Long medical words consist of the following components:
A good example of a medical term to break apart is:
Medical terms do not necessarily have a beginning or ending. Sometimes parts of words appear in different components or places. For example, the word cardio used in the example above, is also in the medical terms myocardial and cardiologist, though they appear in different places. Why and how this happens will be discussed in detail later.
HOSA Medical Terminology Study Guide 2025
As mentioned, the easiest way to understand medical terms is to learn their parts: the beginning (prefix), middle (root), and ending (suffix). It is also the most innovative way to memorize medical terms because almost all medical terms include all these three parts. Most importantly, nearly all medical terms are based on a root word, which is the core of a word and carries its meaning.
1. Prefix – the Beginning
The prefix is a group of letters or a single letter, set before a word to change its meaning. For example, the word “unable” has a root word of able. When the prefix “un” is added, the meaning changes from being capable to being not capable. In the medical field, a prefix is a word added before a root word to provide additional information about the time involved, the location of an organ, or a number of parts.
2. Suffix – the Ending
The suffix is a group of letters or a single letter set after a word to change its meaning. For example, the word “useful” has a root word of use. When “ful” was added at the end, its meaning changed. From being an act, it became as something that describes value. In the medical field, a suffix is a word added after a root word to include a procedure, disease, or condition.
3. Root Word – the Middle
The root word is sometimes in the middle or at the beginning of medical terms. The easiest way to memorize root words is by learning its Latin or Greek meaning. There is no need to learn long words as long as the root words are kept in mind. So, it’s better to focus on root words instead.
4. Word Combinations
Sometimes, medical terms may contain more than one root word. For example, there are 2 root words in the medical term “bronchogenic”: “bronch” and “gen”. The letter “o” was added to make pronunciation easier, while the suffix “ic” was added at the end.
Also, medical terms can be formed using a number of combinations:
prefix + root + suffix
root + suffix
prefix + root
Merely by learning prefixes, suffixes, and root words only, learners can already have vast knowledge of medical terms, making it easier to memorize such words.
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