How to Pronounce Myasthenia Gravis

Myasthenia gravis is pronounced my-as-THEE-nee-ah GRAV-is. The stress falls on the second syllable of the first word (THEE) and the first syllable of the second word (GRAV). Say it like: "my" + "as" + "THEE-nee-ah" + "GRAV-is."

Many people accidentally stress the wrong syllables, saying my-as-thee-NAY-ah or my-as-THAY-nee-ah instead of the correct my-as-THEE-nee-ah. Remember: the stress is on THEE (rhymes with "free"), not on the last part of the word.

Myasthenia gravis breaks down into: my-as-the-ne-ah (5 syllables) grav-is (2 syllables). So the full term is 7 syllables total: my-as-THEE-nee-ah GRAV-is.

Myasthenia comes from Greek: "myo" means muscle, "a-" means without or lacking, and "sthenia" means strength. So myasthenia literally means "muscle weakness." Gravis is a Latin word meaning "serious" or "grave."

Myasthenia gravis is a condition involving muscle weakness, but using the full medical term is usually necessary when talking with healthcare providers or reading medical information. There isn't a shorter everyday equivalent that's commonly used.

Myasthenia gravis is commonly abbreviated as MG. You may see it written as "MG" in medical documents or on patient forms, and it's pronounced by saying the letters: "em-gee."

Several words share the "myo" root meaning muscle, including myocardial (related to the heart muscle), myopathy (a muscle disease), and myositis (muscle inflammation). All these words relate to muscles in different ways.

You might say: "The patient was referred to a neurologist for evaluation of possible myasthenia gravis" or "She was interested in learning more about myasthenia gravis after hearing the diagnosis mentioned during her appointment."