1
,Pronunciation Guidelines
Here are guidelines to help you pronounce medical terms as well as understand pronunciation marks used
throughout this text and in most dictionaries.
Special Sounds
Here are rules regarding certain letter combinations and special sounds attributed to letters based on their
placement in a medical word:
• For ae and oe, only the second vowel is pronounced.
Examples are bursae, pleurae, and roentgen.
• The soft sound of s and j are given to c and g, respectively, before e, i, and y in words of Greek or
Latin origin.
Examples are cerebrum, circumcision, cycle, gel, gingivitis, giant, and gyrate.
• Before other letters, c and g have a hard sound.
Examples are cardiac, cast, gastric, and gonad.
• The letters ch are sometimes pronounced like k.
Examples are cholesterol, cholera, and cholemia.
• When pn appears at the beginning of a word, p is silent and only n is pronounced.
Examples are pneumonia and pneumotoxin.
• When pn appears in the middle of a word, p and n are pronounced.
Examples are orthopnea and hyperpnea.
• When ps appears at the beginning of a word, p is silent and only s is pronounced.
Examples are psychology and psychosis.
• When forming the final letter(s) of a word, e and es are commonly pronounced as separate syllables.
Examples are syncope, systole, and nares.
• When i appears at the end of a word (to form a plural), it is pronounced eye.
Examples are bronchi, fungi, and nuclei.
• All other vowels and consonants have normal English sounds.
Pronunciation Marks
Diacritical marks and capitalization are used to aid pronunciations throughout the text. Diacritical marks
are used to show vowel sounds, and capitalization is used to show emphasis.
Diacritical marks are symbols placed above or under vowels. They show vowel sounds. In this text, only
two diacritical marks are used: the macron (¯) and the breve (˘).
The macron indicates the long The breve indicates the short
sound of vowels, as in: sound of vowels, as in:
a¯ in rate a˘ in apple
e¯ in rebirth e˘ in ever
¯ı in isle ˘ı in it
o¯ in over o˘ in not
ū in unite ŭ in cut
Capitalization is used to indicate primary accent. For example, the pronunciation LĔT-tĕr indicates that
emphasis should be placed on the first syllable when pronouncing the word letter.
, 3
Medical Terminology
Systems A Body Systems Approach
SIXTH EDITION
Barbara A. Gylys (Gl˘L-˘Is), MEd, CMA-A (AAMA)
Professor Emerita
College of Health and Human Services
Coordinator of Medical Assisting Technology
University of Toledo
Toledo, Ohio
Mary Ellen Wedding, MEd, MT(ASCP), CMA,
(AAMA) AAPC
Professor of Health Professions
College of Health Science and Human Services
University of Toledo
Toledo, Ohio
, What’s
CLEAR, CONCISE
PRESENTATION
INSIDE
using the classic MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY SYSTEMS
word-building and A Body Systems Approach, 6th Edition
body systems
approach to learning.
CHAPTER OUTLINES
to orient students to
each chapter’s content
HOW DOES WORD BUILDING WORK?
It begins with the basics
Introduces word elements
• Roots
• Combining forms KEY TERMS
• Suffixes highlighted in the
• Prefixes beginning of each chap ter
Reviews each element one by one
Applies the principles of word
building to each body system
• Learn the parts from which
words are built
• Decipher words based on ABBREVIATIONS
knowledge of word parts for common terms
Uses mnemonic devices and interactive
activities (in the book and on the CD)
to make word building fun and increase retention
,Pronunciation Guidelines
Here are guidelines to help you pronounce medical terms as well as understand pronunciation marks used
throughout this text and in most dictionaries.
Special Sounds
Here are rules regarding certain letter combinations and special sounds attributed to letters based on their
placement in a medical word:
• For ae and oe, only the second vowel is pronounced.
Examples are bursae, pleurae, and roentgen.
• The soft sound of s and j are given to c and g, respectively, before e, i, and y in words of Greek or
Latin origin.
Examples are cerebrum, circumcision, cycle, gel, gingivitis, giant, and gyrate.
• Before other letters, c and g have a hard sound.
Examples are cardiac, cast, gastric, and gonad.
• The letters ch are sometimes pronounced like k.
Examples are cholesterol, cholera, and cholemia.
• When pn appears at the beginning of a word, p is silent and only n is pronounced.
Examples are pneumonia and pneumotoxin.
• When pn appears in the middle of a word, p and n are pronounced.
Examples are orthopnea and hyperpnea.
• When ps appears at the beginning of a word, p is silent and only s is pronounced.
Examples are psychology and psychosis.
• When forming the final letter(s) of a word, e and es are commonly pronounced as separate syllables.
Examples are syncope, systole, and nares.
• When i appears at the end of a word (to form a plural), it is pronounced eye.
Examples are bronchi, fungi, and nuclei.
• All other vowels and consonants have normal English sounds.
Pronunciation Marks
Diacritical marks and capitalization are used to aid pronunciations throughout the text. Diacritical marks
are used to show vowel sounds, and capitalization is used to show emphasis.
Diacritical marks are symbols placed above or under vowels. They show vowel sounds. In this text, only
two diacritical marks are used: the macron (¯) and the breve (˘).
The macron indicates the long The breve indicates the short
sound of vowels, as in: sound of vowels, as in:
a¯ in rate a˘ in apple
e¯ in rebirth e˘ in ever
¯ı in isle ˘ı in it
o¯ in over o˘ in not
ū in unite ŭ in cut
Capitalization is used to indicate primary accent. For example, the pronunciation LĔT-tĕr indicates that
emphasis should be placed on the first syllable when pronouncing the word letter.
, 3
Medical Terminology
Systems A Body Systems Approach
SIXTH EDITION
Barbara A. Gylys (Gl˘L-˘Is), MEd, CMA-A (AAMA)
Professor Emerita
College of Health and Human Services
Coordinator of Medical Assisting Technology
University of Toledo
Toledo, Ohio
Mary Ellen Wedding, MEd, MT(ASCP), CMA,
(AAMA) AAPC
Professor of Health Professions
College of Health Science and Human Services
University of Toledo
Toledo, Ohio
, What’s
CLEAR, CONCISE
PRESENTATION
INSIDE
using the classic MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY SYSTEMS
word-building and A Body Systems Approach, 6th Edition
body systems
approach to learning.
CHAPTER OUTLINES
to orient students to
each chapter’s content
HOW DOES WORD BUILDING WORK?
It begins with the basics
Introduces word elements
• Roots
• Combining forms KEY TERMS
• Suffixes highlighted in the
• Prefixes beginning of each chap ter
Reviews each element one by one
Applies the principles of word
building to each body system
• Learn the parts from which
words are built
• Decipher words based on ABBREVIATIONS
knowledge of word parts for common terms
Uses mnemonic devices and interactive
activities (in the book and on the CD)
to make word building fun and increase retention
