Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Chapter 5 Academic Knowledge: Medical Terminology and Body Organization
153
and diffi cult. These tips will help with pronunciation. First, break each
term into its word parts. Then pronounce each word part separately.
Figure 5.6 provides some basic pronunciation rules. The part of the word
that appears in capital letters should be emphasized when you speak.
Although these rules will help you pronounce new terms, medical
words should not be spelled by sounding them out. Some terms sound
alike but are spelled differently. One letter can change the entire meaning
of a body part or drug name. If you misspell a medical term, it can create
confusion and may result in an incorrect diagnosis or procedure. You
cannot rely on a computer to fi nd your errors because spell-checkers may
not recognize medical terminology. When you are unsure of a term’s
spelling or meaning, you should look up the term in a medical dictionary.
RECALL YOUR READING
1. In all medical careers, it is important to understand, speak, spell, and use
_________ correctly.
2. All medical terms have one or more _________ and a _________, but they
may not have a _________.
3. It is important that you use only the _________ accepted by your facility.
4. _________ medical terms may not be formed by adding -s or -es to the end,
as in common English words.
5. _________ rules can be used to sound out medical terms, but there may be
more than one spelling for a particular sound.
Complete the
Map Your Reading
graphic organizer for the
section you just read.
Figure 5.6 Pronunciation Rules
Rule Examples
• c and g have a soft sound (like s and j)
when they appear before the letters e, i,
and y
cycle (SI-kuhl)
gender (JEHN-der)
giant (JI-ant)
• c and g have a hard sound (like k and
guh) when they appear before other
letters
cranium (KRAY-nee-um)
cut (KUHT)
gonad (GOH-nad)
• ch sounds like k when it appears before
consonants
chlorine (KLOHR-een)
chronic (KRAHN-ik)
• p is silent at the beginning of a word
when followed by the letters s and n
psychic (SI-kik)
pneumonia (noo-MOH-nyuh)
• i sounds like eye when added to the end
of a word to form a plural
stimuli (STIM-yoo-li)
alveoli (al-VEE-oh-li)
• ae and oe sound like ee coxae (kahk-SEE)
amoeba (uh-MEE-buh)
• es is often pronounced as a separate
syllable when found at the end of a word
nares (NAR-eez)
stases (STAYS-eez)