How to Pronounce Choledochal Cyst

Say it like this: koh-LED-oh-kal SIST. The first part rhymes with "cola," the second part sounds like "led," and the third part sounds like "oh-kal" (similar to "local" without the L at the start). The stress falls on the second syllable: LED.

Break it into five syllables like this: cho-LED-o-chal cyst. The word "choledochal" has four syllables, and "cyst" stands alone as one syllable.

The stress lands on the second syllable: cho-LED-o-chal. Many people mistakenly stress the first syllable (CHO-led-o-chal) or the last syllable (cho-led-o-CHAL), but "LED" is where your voice should be loudest and longest.

Both parts come from Greek and refer to the bile duct. "Choledoch-" comes from Greek words meaning "bile" and "to receive," while "-chal" is a suffix related to ducts or passages. Together, they literally point to the bile duct system.

It's a term describing an abnormal pocket or swelling in the bile duct. Think of it as a bulge in the tube that carries bile in your body, and this bulge is what doctors call a cyst.

You might hear "choledochitis" (inflammation of the bile duct) or "choledocholithotomy" (a procedure on the bile duct). All these words share the "choledoch-" part because they all involve the bile duct.

Yes, doctors sometimes write "CDC" as shorthand, though this abbreviation is less common than the full term. When you see "CDC" in a medical context about bile ducts, it refers to choledochal cyst.

You might say: "The radiologist identified a choledochal cyst on the imaging study." Or: "The patient was referred to a specialist because of a suspected choledochal cyst." The term describes the condition itself, so it appears when doctors are discussing the diagnosis or findings.