4A051 CDC Understanding and Retention Evaluation (URE) Practice Exam

Understanding medical word parts helps you map a term to the body system it involves. Adren(o) points to the adrenal glands, the endocrine glands sitting atop each kidney that produce hormones such as adrenaline (epinephrine) and cortisol. This root appears in terms like adrenal, adrenomedullary, and adrenocortical, all referring to that gland. It isn’t related to the abdomen (that uses abdomin/o), blood vessels (vas/o or angi/o), or hearing (audi/o or acoust/o). So the meaning of adren(o) is the adrenal gland.