lymph

Lymph- is a combining form used like a prefix indicating lymph, an important liquid in the body that contains white blood cells and is conveyed to the bloodstream through lymphatic vessels. Lymph- is used in many medical terms, especially in anatomy and pathology.

Lymph- comes from the Latin lympha, meaning “water.” This Latin root has been connected to the Greek word nýmphē, source of nymph in English. Discover more at our entry for nymph.

Lymph- is a variant of lympho-, which loses its -o– when combined with words or word elements beginning with vowels.

Want to know more? Read our Words That Use lympho- article.

Closely related to lymph- and lympho- is lymphangi-, a combining form meaning “lymph vessel” and connected to the combining form angio-.

Lymphoma is “a tumor arising from any of the cellular elements of lymph nodes.”

The first part of the word, lymph- indicates “lymph.” The suffix -oma may also look familiar; it is used to name tumors. Lymphoma literally translates to “lymph tumors.”

The word lymphoma was formed in New Latin and uses the equivalent forms lymph- and -oma in the language.

What are some words that use the combining form lymph-?

• lymphadenoma
• lymphagogue
• lymphoid
• lymphatic (using the equivalent form of lymph- in Latin)
• lymphemia
• lymphectasia

What are some other forms that lymph- may be commonly confused with?

• litho-
• lumbo-
• nympho-
• sym-

The combining form -agogue is used in medical terms to denote substances that cause the secretion of a fluid. With this in mind, what does an agent known as a lymphagogue cause, generally speaking?