What is the combining form for the nose?

What is the combining form for the nose?

• A. Rhin/o
• B. Nas/o
• C. Otol/o
• D. Cran/o

Answer: (A)

In medical terms, combining forms are the building blocks you attach to other word parts to name a body part or condition. For the nose, the form most directly used to name nose-related terms is rhin/o. That root appears in words like rhinitis (inflammation of the nose) and rhinoplasty (nose surgery), making it the straightforward and common choice for nose terminology. The other options point to different areas—ot/o is for the ear, and cran/o relates to the skull—so they wouldn’t be used to denote the nose. While nas/o can also refer to the nose in some contexts, rhin/o is the standard nose-specific combining form in many medical terms, which is why it’s the best answer.

In medical terms, combining forms are the building blocks you attach to other word parts to name a body part or condition. For the nose, the form most directly used to name nose-related terms is rhin/o. That root appears in words like rhinitis (inflammation of the nose) and rhinoplasty (nose surgery), making it the straightforward and common choice for nose terminology. The other options point to different areas—ot/o is for the ear, and cran/o relates to the skull—so they wouldn’t be used to denote the nose. While nas/o can also refer to the nose in some contexts, rhin/o is the standard nose-specific combining form in many medical terms, which is why it’s the best answer.