The combining form 'oste(o)' means which of the following?

• A. Bone
• B. Ear
• C. Mouth
• D. Oxygen

Answer: (A)

Oste(o) denotes bone. In medical terms, combining forms link a root to a suffix to show what the term is about, and oste(o) specifically signals bone tissue or bone-related concepts. You’ll see it in words like osteoarthritis (degeneration of joint with bone involvement), osteoblast (a bone-forming cell), and osteoporosis (loss of bone density). The other roots refer to different structures—ot- or oto- for the ear, stomat- or oro- for the mouth, and ox- or oxy- for oxygen—so they don’t apply to bone.