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Medical Terms Patients Often Mispronounce

Words you might hear at a doctor's office, said with confidence.

omeprazoleoh-MEP-ruh-zohl

Common acid-reflux medication.

acetaminophenuh-see-tuh-MIN-uh-fen

US name for paracetamol — five syllables.

gastroenterologygas-troh-en-tuh-ROL-uh-jee

Long but regular once broken into chunks.

anesthesiologistan-es-thee-zee-OL-uh-jist

The specialist who manages anesthesia.

pneumonianoo-MOHN-yuh

Silent P at the start.

psoriasissuh-RY-uh-sis

Silent P again — stress the second syllable.

ophthalmologistoff-thal-MOL-uh-jist

Eye doctor — the "phth" cluster is the trap.

diarrheady-uh-REE-uh

Four syllables, stress on the third.

hemorrhageHEM-rij

Compresses to two syllables in speech.

prognosisprog-NOH-sis

Stress the second syllable, not the first.

metastasismuh-TAS-tuh-sis

Stress the second syllable.

arrhythmiaay-RITH-mee-uh

Silent H — "a-rith-mia".

sphygmomanometersfig-moh-muh-NOM-uh-ter

The blood-pressure cuff — genuinely one of the hardest medical words.

otorhinolaryngologistoh-toh-ry-noh-lair-in-GOL-uh-jist

The formal name for an ENT doctor.

ibuprofeneye-byoo-PROH-fen

Not "eye-broh-fen" — four syllables.

More mispronounced word lists

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