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What does septic mean in medical terms?
septic
Meaning: infection, putrefaction
Type: Word root · Body system: Whole Body & General Terms
A word root is the core of a word; prefixes and suffixes attach around it. On this page: what septic means, and real medical words that use it, each broken down into its parts.
Example words using septic
septicemia
septic (infection) + -emia (in the blood) = presence of infectious organisms in the blood, in older terminology
septic (infection) + -emia (in the blood) = presence of infectious organisms in the blood, in older terminology
aseptic
a- (without) + septic (infection) = free from infectious material
a- (without) + septic (infection) = free from infectious material
antiseptic
anti- (against) + septic (infection) = an agent that works against infectious microorganisms on surfaces (definitional)
anti- (against) + septic (infection) = an agent that works against infectious microorganisms on surfaces (definitional)
More Whole Body & General Terms roots
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.