How to Pronounce Bronchomalacia
Definition, meaning, and phonetic spelling
Bronchomalacia Pronunciation
brong-koh-mah-LAY-shee-ah
Stressed syllable in ALL CAPS · hyphens separate syllables
Syllable Breakdown
brong
koh
mah
LAY
stress here
shee
ah
6 syllables
What is Bronchomalacia?
Softening and collapse of the bronchi (major airways branching from the trachea), causing recurrent chest infections and breathing difficulties. It frequently accompanies tracheomalacia and in ENT is relevant when evaluating stridor and recurrent croup-like symptoms.
Questions About Bronchomalacia
How do you pronounce bronchomalacia?
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Bronchomalacia is pronounced "brong-koh-mah-LAY-shee-ah." The stress falls on the fourth syllable, which rhymes with "say." If you break it into chunks, think: BRONG (like "bronc" in bronco) + KOH + MAH + LAY + SHEE + AH.
What syllable is stressed in bronchomalacia?
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The stress is on the LAY syllable, making it brong-koh-mah-LAY-shee-ah. A common mistake is stressing the first syllable (BRONG-koh-malacia), but that's not correct—the emphasis belongs near the end of the word.
How do you break bronchomalacia into syllables?
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Bronchomalacia divides into six syllables: bron-cho-ma-la-ci-a. Some people group the first two together as "BRONG-ko," which is fine for speaking—the important thing is getting the stress on the fourth syllable (LAY).
What do the word parts of bronchomalacia mean?
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Bronchomalacia comes from two Greek roots: "broncho-" refers to the bronchi (the major airways in the lungs), and "-malacia" means softening or weakening of tissue. Put together, it literally means "softening of the bronchi."
What is bronchomalacia in plain English?
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Bronchomalacia means the airways in your lungs have become soft and floppy instead of staying firm and open. Think of it like a flexible straw that sometimes collapses instead of a rigid tube that stays firm.
What other medical words use the root 'malacia'?
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Several medical terms share the "-malacia" root, including tracheomalacia (softening of the windpipe), laryngomalacia (softening of the voice box), and osteomalacia (softening of bone). They all describe the same idea: tissue that has become abnormally soft.
How would you use bronchomalacia in a sentence?
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You might hear someone say: "The doctor explained that the patient's recurrent airway problems were related to bronchomalacia." Or: "When evaluating children with stridor, doctors sometimes look for signs of bronchomalacia."
What is a common mispronunciation of bronchomalacia?
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A frequent mistake is saying "BRONG-koh-muh-LAY-shuh" (with a schwa sound at the end instead of "ah") or stressing the first syllable. The correct ending sounds more like "shee-ah," and remember: the big stress is on LAY, not on BRONG.