Chapter 3 The Digestive System 95 Combining Forms Listed below are common combining forms used in medical terms related to the digestive system. As you progress through this book, you will discover that some of these combining forms are used in medical terms related to other body systems as well. Root Word/Combining Vowel Meaning carcin/o cancerous cancer celi/o abdomen chol/e bile gall cholecyst/o gallbladder col/o, colon/o colon large intestine dist/o away from the point of origin diverticul/o diverticulum duoden/o duodenum enter/o intestines esophag/o esophagus gastr/o stomach gingiv/o gums gloss/o tongue hemat/o blood hepat/o liver herni/o hernia rupture protrusion ile/o ileum jejun/o jejunum lapar/o abdomen lith/o stone or/o mouth organ/o organ pancreat/o pancreas peps/o digestion polyp/o polyp small growth proct/o anus and rectum proxim/o nearest the point of origin rect/o rectum sial/o saliva sigmoid/o sigmoid colon