Lip-: The Root for Fat in Medical Terminology

The combining form lip- (from Greek lipos, fat) denotes fat or lipid.

Examples

• Lipoma: Benign fatty tumor (-oma = tumor).
• Lipolysis: Fat breakdown (-lysis = breakdown).
• Lipoprotein: Lipid + protein complex (e.g., LDL, HDL).
• Lipid: Fat or fat-like substance.
• Lipoid: Resembling fat.
• Liposuction: Surgical fat removal.
• Hyperlipidemia: High blood lipids.

Recognizing lip- helps decode hundreds of medical terms related to fats and metabolism.