Defining Medical Words
Terms
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- All other vowels and consonants have ordinary English sounds.
- (PRONUNCIATION GUIDELINES)
- RULE 1
- A WR is used before a suffix that begins with a vowel.
-
c and g are given the soft sound of s an
j, respectively, before e, i,
and y in words of both Greek
and Latin origins. -
examples: cerebum, circumcision, cycle,
gel, gingivitis, giant, gyrate - RULE 2
- A combining vowel is used to link a WR to a suffix that begins with a consonant and to link a WR to another WR to form a compound word.
-
e and es, when forming the final letter
or letters of a word, are
often pronounced as separate
syllables. - examples: syncope, systole, nares,
- ch is sometimes pronounced like k.
- examples: cholesterol, cholera, cholemia
- Three Basic Steps for Defining Medical Words
-
FIRST, define the SUFFIX, or last part
of the word.
SECOND, define the PREFIX, or first
part of the word.
LAST, define the MIDDLE of the word. - i at the end of a word (to form a plural) is pronounced "eye".
- examples: bronchi, fungi, nuclei
- pn at the beginning of a word is pronounced with only the n sound.
- examples: pneumonia, pneumotoxin
- Two Basic Rules for Building Medical Words
-
RULE 1 A WR is used before a suffix
that begins with a vowel.
RULE 2 A combining vowel is used to
link a WR to a suffix that
begins with a consonant and to
link a WR to another WR to
form a compound word. - ps is pronounced like s.
- examples: psychology, psychosis
-
ae and oe, only the second vowel is
pronounced. - examples: bursae, pleaurae, roentgen