SkillsUSA Medical Terminology Practice Test

Bleeding or bursting forth of blood is described by the term hemorrhage. This word uses the root for blood (hem/o or hemat/o) plus the suffix -rrhage, which means bursting forth. So hemorrhage directly names the process of blood escaping from vessels. The other terms refer to bone or structures: calcaneus is the heel bone; cancellous bone is the spongy interior part of bone; cost/o means rib. Therefore hemorrhage is the correct choice because it specifically denotes the act of bleeding.