How to Pronounce Medullary Cavity
Definition, meaning, and phonetic spelling
Medullary Cavity Pronunciation
MED-yoo-lair-ee KAV-ih-tee
Stressed syllable in ALL CAPS · hyphens separate syllables
Syllable Breakdown
MED
stress here
yoo
lair
ee KAV
ih
tee
6 syllables
What is Medullary Cavity?
The hollow center of a long bone's shaft that contains bone marrow (red marrow in children, yellow/fatty marrow in adults). In adults, red marrow (which produces blood cells) is mainly found in flat bones like the sternum and hip bones.
Questions About Medullary Cavity
How do you pronounce 'medullary cavity'?
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Say it like this: MED-yoo-lair-ee KAV-ih-tee. The first word rhymes with "federal," and the second word rhymes with "gravity." The stress falls on the first syllable of each word: MED and KAV.
What is the stressed syllable in 'medullary'?
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The stressed syllable is MED, the first one. A common mistake is putting the stress on the second syllable (yoo), but you should say MED-yoo-lair-ee, not muh-DUL-uh-ree.
How do you break 'medullary cavity' into syllables?
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Medullary breaks into four syllables: MED-ul-lair-ee. Cavity breaks into three syllables: CAV-ih-tee. Together they are seven syllables total.
What do the word parts 'medullary' and 'cavity' mean separately?
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Medullary comes from the Latin word 'medulla,' which means the inner or central part of something. Cavity means a hollow space or hole inside something. Together, medullary cavity means the hollow center space inside a bone.
What is a simpler way to understand 'medullary cavity'?
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Think of it as the hollow tunnel that runs through the middle of a long bone, like the shaft of a bone in your arm or leg. This space is filled with soft material called marrow.
What related words share the root 'medulla'?
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Other medical words with the same root include 'medulla oblongata' (a part of the brain) and 'adrenal medulla' (the inner part of an adrenal gland). All of these use 'medulla' to mean an inner or central structure.
Can you use 'medullary cavity' in a simple sentence?
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Here's an example: "The medullary cavity is the space inside the bone that doctors study to understand bone structure." You might also hear it called simply "the marrow cavity."
Is there a shorter way to say 'medullary cavity'?
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Yes, many people just call it the "marrow cavity" or simply "the medullary canal." All three terms refer to the same hollow space inside a bone.