-itis

Inflammation of whatever comes before it.

Also called:

Inflammation suffix

Pronounced:

EYE-tiss

What it means

Inflammation of the part named before it. Once you know this, a large number of medical words decode themselves.

Inflammation is not the same as infection. Some -itis conditions are infections, many are not — arthritis and dermatitis usually are not.

Everywhere. It is one of the two or three most common endings in all of medicine.

Use it to work out what you are being told. The ending tells you what is happening; the beginning tells you where.

Ask whether it is infective or not, since that determines whether antibiotics have any part to play — and for most -itis conditions they do not.

Clinically reviewed by Dr Mohammad Zubair Khan, GMC 7563469

Last reviewed

August 30, 2026