Which combining form is used in medical terms to mean tissue death or necrosis?

• A. Path/o
• B. Blast/o
• C. Arc/o
• D. Necr/o

Answer: (D)

Necr/o is the combining form that signifies tissue death. It comes from the Greek nekros, meaning dead body, and shows up in terms like necrosis (tissue death) and necrotic (pertaining to dead tissue). The other roots don’t convey death of tissue: path/o relates to disease, blast/o to a germ or immature cell, and arc/o refers to an arc or bow and isn’t used to describe necrosis.