What does mega- mean in medical terms?

mega-

Meaning: large, great

Type: Prefix

A prefix goes at the very start of a word, before the root. On this page: what mega- means, and real medical words that use it, each broken down into its parts.

Example words using mega-

megacolon
mega- (large) + colon (large intestine) = an abnormally enlarged colon
megakaryocyte
mega- (large) + karyo (nucleus) + cyte (cell) = a large bone-marrow cell with a large nucleus

Shortened forms

Charts and notes shorten long terms — see the Medical Abbreviations guide for the short forms you will meet in real records.

Please note: This section teaches the language of medicine — what word parts mean and how terms are built. It is an educational reference, not medical advice. For the meaning of a word in your own medical record, ask the clinician who wrote it.