How to Pronounce Kaposi Sarcoma

Kaposi sarcoma is pronounced "KAP-oh-see sar-KOH-mah." The first part rhymes with "map," the second part sounds like "oh" followed by "see," and sarcoma is pronounced with the stress on the second syllable, which rhymes with "go."

In "Kaposi," you stress the first syllable: KAP-oh-see. In "sarcoma," you stress the second syllable: sar-KOH-mah. Many people mistakenly stress the wrong syllable in sarcoma by saying "SAR-koh-mah" instead of "sar-KOH-mah."

Kaposi breaks into three syllables: KAP-oh-see. Sarcoma breaks into three syllables: sar-KOH-mah. Together, the full term has six syllables.

The word "sarcoma" comes from Greek roots: "sarc" means flesh or muscle, and "oma" means tumor or abnormal growth. So sarcoma literally means a tumor that grows in soft tissue.

Kaposi sarcoma is named after Moritz Kaposi, an Austrian-Hungarian dermatologist (skin doctor) who first described the disease in the 1870s. Medical conditions are often named after the doctors who first identified them.

The common abbreviation is "KS," pronounced by saying each letter separately: "K-S." You might also see it abbreviated as "KS" in medical reports or discussions.

Other words built from the sarcoma root include "osteosarcoma" (bone cancer) and "liposarcoma" (fatty tissue cancer). Any word ending in "-sarcoma" refers to a type of tumor growing in soft tissue.

You might hear someone say, "The dermatology textbook has a chapter on Kaposi sarcoma and how to recognize it visually." Or: "Pronouncing Kaposi sarcoma correctly takes practice—remember the stress on KAP and KOH."