What does -ia mean in medical terms?

-ia

Meaning: condition

Type: Suffix

A suffix goes at the very end of a word, after the root. On this page: what -ia means, and real medical words that use it, each broken down into its parts.

Example words using -ia

pneumonia
pneumon (lung) + -ia (condition) = condition (inflammation) of the lungs
anemia
an- (without) + hem (blood) + -ia (condition) = condition of low red blood cells

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.