Which combining form is a prefix meaning jaw?

• A. Gnath/o
• B. Immune/o
• C. Ped/o
• D. Axill/o

Answer: (A)

Gnath/o is the combining form meaning jaw, coming from the Greek gnathos. It supplies the jaw meaning when attached to a suffix (or used as a prefix in terms like gnathalgia for jaw pain or gnathoplasty for jaw surgery). The other forms don’t convey jaw: immune/o means immune related, ped/o relates to foot or to a child, and axill/o refers to the armpit. So gnath/o is the correct form for “jaw.”