Which suffix means abnormal hardening?

• A. sclerosis
• B. stenosis
• C. pathy
• D. plasty

Answer: (A)

Think about how suffixes describe what’s happening to tissues. The ending that means abnormal hardening is -sclerosis, from the Greek skleros meaning hard. It signals that tissue has become harder in an abnormal, disease-related way, as seen in terms like arteriosclerosis (hardening of arteries) or osteosclerosis (hardening of bone). The other endings describe different ideas: -stenosis indicates narrowing of a passage or vessel, -pathy denotes a disease condition, and -plasty refers to a surgical repair or reshaping. So the suffix for abnormal hardening is -sclerosis.