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CPC Practice Test

CPC Medical Terminology Practice Questions

Medical Terminology makes up 2 of every 50 questions on a Tigertest CPC practice test. Here are 8 of the 8 questions on it, each with the answer and the reason.

Updated by the Tigertest team. Based on AAPC's published CPC exam areas, the ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, CMS rules and CPT conventions. Original questions; no code-book lookups.

  1. 1. The suffix -ectomy means:

    • A.Creating an opening
    • B.Surgical removal
    • C.Surgical repair
    • D.Cutting into

    Answer: B. -ectomy is excision or removal, as in appendectomy. Cutting into is -otomy, a new opening is -ostomy and repair is -plasty.

  2. 2. A colostomy is best described as:

    • A.Suture repair of the colon
    • B.Viewing the colon with a scope
    • C.Surgical removal of the colon
    • D.An opening from colon to skin

    Answer: D. -ostomy means creating an artificial opening, here from the colon through the abdominal wall. Removal of the colon is a colectomy and viewing it is a colonoscopy.

  3. 3. Which suffix means surgical fixation, as in nephropexy?

    • A.-pexy
    • B.-rrhaphy
    • C.-plasty
    • D.-desis

    Answer: A. -pexy is fixation or suspension of an organ. -plasty is repair, -desis is binding or fusion and -rrhaphy is suturing.

  4. 4. Arthrocentesis refers to:

    • A.Visual examination of a joint's interior
    • B.Surgical repair of a joint
    • C.Puncture of a joint to drain fluid
    • D.Fusion of a joint with bone graft

    Answer: C. -centesis is a surgical puncture to remove fluid. Fusion is arthrodesis, a scope exam is arthroscopy and repair is arthroplasty.

  5. 5. Which term describes a point farther from where a limb attaches to the trunk?

    • A.Medial
    • B.Superior
    • C.Distal
    • D.Proximal

    Answer: C. Distal means farther from the point of attachment; proximal means closer. The wrist is distal to the elbow.

  6. 6. The prefix brady- in bradycardia means:

    • A.Slow
    • B.Irregular
    • C.Absent
    • D.Fast

    Answer: A. Brady- means slow, so bradycardia is a slow heart rate. Fast is tachy-, as in tachycardia.

  7. 7. Cholelithiasis means:

    • A.Stones in the salivary ducts
    • B.Inflammation of the gallbladder
    • C.Stones in the urinary tract
    • D.Gallstones in the gallbladder

    Answer: D. Chole- (bile) plus -lithiasis (stones) means gallstones. Inflammation of the gallbladder is cholecystitis and urinary stones are urolithiasis.

  8. 8. Blepharoplasty is surgery on the:

    • A.Eardrum
    • B.Eyelid
    • C.Bladder
    • D.Lip

    Answer: B. Blephar/o is the eyelid. The bladder is cyst/o, the lip is cheil/o and the eardrum is tympan/o or myring/o.

Practice all 8 medical terminology questions, and the rest of the 200-question bank, in the free CPC training sets. Questions you miss come back until you have mastered them.

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