What does -sclerosis mean in medical terms?

-sclerosis

Meaning: abnormal hardening

Type: Suffix

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

Example words using -sclerosis

atherosclerosis
athero (fatty plaque) + -sclerosis (hardening) = hardening of arteries by plaque
arteriosclerosis
arterio (artery) + -sclerosis (hardening) = hardening of the arteries

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.