Introduction to Medical Terminology Practice Test

The main concept being tested is that the suffix -necrosis denotes tissue death. Necrosis comes from a root meaning death and is used in medicine to describe tissue that has died, usually due to injury, lack of blood supply, or toxins. This is different from healing (the repair or return of tissue), swelling (fluid buildup), or infection (presence of pathogens). So the suffix signals tissue death, not these other processes.