Which term would be used to describe red blood cells in medical terminology?

• A. Erythrocyte
• B. Erythrocytology
• C. Leukocyte
• D. Hematology

Answer: (A)

Red blood cells are described by the term erythrocyte. The prefix erythro- means red and the suffix -cyte means cell, so erythrocyte literally means a red cell. In medical terminology, this is the singular term for one red blood cell (plural: erythrocytes). The other options refer to different ideas: erythrocytology would denote the study of red blood cells, leukocyte is a white blood cell, and hematology is the medical field that studies blood as a whole. So for naming the actual red blood cell, the correct term is erythrocyte.