Question

select all that apply

what is the root for the term cardiovascular? more than one answer may be correct.

endo
ar
vascul
cardio

Explanation:

Analyze the word structure

The term cardiovascular is a compound medical word. To find its roots, we must break down its component parts:

• cardi/o: This is a combining form consisting of the word root cardi (meaning heart) and the combining vowel "o".
• vascul: This is a word root meaning blood vessel.
• -ar: This is an adjective suffix meaning pertaining to.

Identify the word roots

Using our knowledge of Medical Word Roots and Medical Word Structure, we look for the core word roots present in the term:

1. cardi (from cardio) is a word root meaning heart.
2. vascul is a word root meaning vessel.

Let's evaluate the given options:

• endo: This is a prefix meaning within, not a root in this term.
• ar: This is an adjective suffix, not a root.
• vascul: This is a correct word root meaning vessel.
• cardio: This is a combining form (root + combining vowel), but in many introductory contexts, it is sometimes distinguished from the pure root cardi. However, looking closely at the options, cardi is not listed on its own, and cardio contains the root cardi. Let's verify standard medical terminology definitions where vascul is the pure root, and cardio serves as the combining form. Since the question asks "What is the root...", vascul is a pure root. cardio is technically a combining form (cardi + o). Therefore, vascul is the primary pure root option listed.

Answer:

• endo
• ar
• vascul (Correct answer)
• cardio