Which term means 'pertaining to the mouth'?

• A. Otic
• B. Oral
• C. Patent
• D. Pathology

Answer: (B)

In medical terminology, adjectives describing location or relation often come from a root plus a suffix that turns it into an attributive form. For the mouth, the root is connected to the Latin word for mouth, and the adjective form ends up as "oral." That's why it is used in phrases like oral cavity or oral medications—the term directly describes what relates to the mouth.

Otic pertains to the ear, not the mouth. Patent means open or unobstructed, a concept used for things like a patent ductus arteriosus, not the mouth. Pathology is the study of disease, not a body part. So the term that means pertaining to the mouth is oral.