How to Pronounce Pulmonary Regurgitation

Say it like this: PUL-moh-nair-ee reh-gur-jih-TAY-shun. The stress or emphasis goes on the first syllable of the first word (PUL) and the last syllable of the second word (TAY). Think of it as two words: "PUL-moh-nair-ee" and "reh-gur-jih-TAY-shun."

Pulmonary breaks into five syllables: PUL-moh-nair-ee. Regurgitation breaks into five syllables: reh-gur-jih-TAY-shun. Together that's ten syllables, but you don't say them all with equal force—the stressed ones stand out more.

The stress falls on PUL (first syllable of pulmonary) and TAY (fourth syllable of regurgitation). A common mistake is stressing the wrong syllable—for example, saying pul-MOH-nair-ee instead of PUL-moh-nair-ee, or reh-gur-jih-tay-SHUN instead of reh-gur-jih-TAY-shun.

Pulmonary comes from the Latin word "pulmo," which means lung. Regurgitation comes from Latin and means to flow or surge backward—like water backing up. So together, the term describes something happening with the lungs' blood vessels that involves backward flow.

Pulmonary regurgitation means a valve in the heart that controls blood flow to the lungs is leaky. This allows some blood to flow the wrong direction (backward) instead of moving forward as it should. Think of it like a door that doesn't close all the way, letting flow go both directions.

Several words share the "pulmonary" root: pulmonologist (a lung doctor), pulmonary embolism (a clot in the lung's blood vessels), and pulmonary artery (the blood vessel that carries blood to the lungs). All of these relate to the lungs or their blood vessels.

Doctors sometimes use the abbreviation PR or write it as pulmonary regurg (informal shorthand). However, the full term "pulmonary regurgitation" is what you'll see in medical documents and is the best way to say it clearly.

You might hear or read something like: "The doctor mentioned that the patient has pulmonary regurgitation on their echocardiogram." This sentence tells you the condition was found during a heart imaging test, without giving any medical advice about what it means for treatment.