The combining form dips/o indicates which sensation?

• A. Thirst
• B. Pain
• C. Blood
• D. Sweat

Answer: (A)

Combining forms in medical terms attach to suffixes to name a specific sensation or condition. The form dips/o specifically means thirst, coming from the Greek word dipsa for thirst. That’s why it appears in terms like polydipsia, which means excessive thirst. So dips/o signals the sensation of thirst when forming medical terms.

For contrast, other sensations are represented by different combining forms: pain is typically shown with odyn/o or the suffix -algia, blood is shown with hemat/o (or hem/o), and sweat is hidr/o (from Greek hidros). These show how each combining form ties a particular sense or bodily state to a term.