Final answer:
In medical terminology, prefixes and suffixes indicate information about location or time. Directional terms like 'anterior' and 'posterior' are used for pinpointing anatomical locations, while prefixes such as 'pre-' and 'post-' indicate timing.
Step-by-step explanation:
The medical terminology word parts that provide information about location or time are primarily prefixes and suffixes. For example, prefixes like sub- (meaning under or below) and peri- (meaning around or surrounding), as well as suffixes such as -al (pertaining to) and -ior (pertaining to location), give a precise understanding of where something is situated anatomically. Similarly, the relative timing of a symptom or condition might be indicated by prefixes like pre- (before) and post- (after). Directional terms like anterior and posterior are crucial for accurately describing the locations of body structures in anatomy and healthcare. By using such anatomical terms, professionals can communicate clearly to avoid ambiguity and medical errors, and to effectively pinpoint locations in the three-dimensional space of the body as well as in time, such as describing the onset of a condition.