How to Pronounce Blastomycosis
Definition, meaning, and phonetic spelling
Blastomycosis Pronunciation
blas-toh-my-KOH-sis
Stressed syllable in ALL CAPS · hyphens separate syllables
Syllable Breakdown
blas
toh
my
KOH
stress here
sis
5 syllables
What is Blastomycosis?
A fungal infection caused by inhaling spores of Blastomyces dermatitidis, a fungus found in moist soil and decaying organic matter in parts of North America (especially around the Great Lakes and Mississippi and Ohio River valleys). It primarily causes lung infection but can spread to skin, bones, and the brain.
Questions About Blastomycosis
How do you pronounce blastomycosis?
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Blastomycosis is pronounced blas-toh-my-KOH-sis. Break it into four syllables: BLAS-toh-my-KOH-sis. The stress falls on the third syllable, KOH, which should be said louder and longer than the others.
What is the most common mispronunciation of blastomycosis?
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Many people stress the first syllable and say BLAS-toh-my-ko-sis, but that's incorrect. The correct stress is on the KOH syllable in the middle of the word: blas-toh-my-KOH-sis.
What do the word parts in blastomycosis mean?
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The word comes from three Greek roots: 'blasto-' means bud or early stage of growth, 'myc-' or 'mycetes' means fungus, and '-osis' means condition or disease. So the word literally means a fungal condition involving budding or sprouting.
How should I break blastomycosis into syllables?
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Divide the word like this: blas-to-my-co-sis. That's five syllables when you say it slowly, but in regular speech it sounds more like four: blas-toh-my-KOH-sis.
Is there a shorter way to refer to blastomycosis?
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Yes, doctors sometimes just call it 'blasto' informally, pronounced BLAS-toh. However, the full term blastomycosis is the correct and complete medical name.
What related words share the same root as blastomycosis?
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Other medical words with 'myco-' or 'mycosis' include histoplasmosis, coccidioidomycosis, and candidiasis—all of which are fungal infections. The 'myco' part always tells you the condition involves a fungus.
Can you use blastomycosis in a sentence?
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Here's an example: "The radiologist noted findings consistent with blastomycosis on the patient's chest X-ray." This is the kind of sentence you'd hear in a medical setting when doctors are discussing this condition.
Why is the stress on the KOH syllable instead of the first syllable?
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In medical terms from Greek, the stress often falls on the syllable before the ending '-osis.' Since '-osis' is the final part, the stress moves back to the syllable before it, which is KOH. This is a pattern you'll see in other disease names too, like tuberculosis.