What is the root for the eye?

• A. opt/o
• B. ocul/o
• C. ophthalm/o
• D. retin/o

Answer: (C)

The root meaning eye in medical terminology is ophthalm/o. This combining form is used to build terms that refer to the eye as a whole, such as ophthalmology (the study of the eye) and ophthalmic (pertaining to the eye).

Other roots relate to the eye in different ways but not to the organ as a whole: opt/o is tied to vision and sight (as in optics or optometry); ocul/o also means eye and appears in terms like ocular, but the standard root for the eye itself is ophthalm/o; retin/o refers specifically to the retina, a part of the eye.