How to Pronounce Aortofemoral Bypass

Say it like this: ay-OR-toh-FEM-oh-ral BY-pass. Break it into chunks: 'ay-OR-toh' (the first part), then 'FEM-oh-ral' (the middle part), then 'BY-pass' (the last part). The stress falls on the second syllable of the first chunk—that's the 'OR' part—and on the first syllable of 'femoral,' which is 'FEM'.

Many people accidentally stress the wrong syllables and say 'ay-or-toe-fem-OR-al' or 'ay-or-TOH-fem-oral.' The correct way emphasizes 'OR' in the first part and 'FEM' in the second part: ay-OR-toh-FEM-oh-ral.

The full term has 7 syllables: ay-OR-toh-FEM-oh-ral (6 syllables) plus BY-pass (2 syllables). You can also count them as: ay / OR / toh / FEM / oh / ral / BY / pass.

'Aorta' comes from Greek and means the largest blood vessel that leaves the heart. 'Femoral' comes from Latin 'femur,' which means thighbone—so it refers to arteries in the thigh and groin area. When you put them together with 'bypass,' you're describing a connection between these two important blood vessels.

'Bypass' means to go around something that is blocked or damaged. In everyday language, if you bypass a traffic jam, you take a different route to avoid it. In this term, a bypass creates an alternate path for blood flow.

The abbreviation is AFB. You can say it by spelling out the letters: 'A-F-B.' Some people also call it 'aortofemoral graft' since the bypass uses a synthetic tube (graft) to make the new connection.

Other medical terms using 'aorta' include 'aortic' (relating to the aorta), 'aortic aneurysm' (a bulge in the aorta), and 'aortography' (imaging of the aorta). They all refer to the same major blood vessel.

You might hear: 'The surgeon performed an aortofemoral bypass to restore blood flow to both legs.' Or: 'The patient needed an aortofemoral bypass surgery because of severe blockages in the lower aorta.'