How to Pronounce Artificial Urinary Sphincter

Say it like this: ar-tih-FISH-ul YOOR-ih-nair-ee SFINK-tur. The stress (loudest part) lands on FISH in the first word and SFINK in the last word. If you say all the parts at normal volume, you'll sound like you're reading a list instead of saying a real term.

Artificial means 'man-made' or 'not natural.' In this case, it's referring to a device that is created by doctors and surgeons, not something your body makes on its own.

A sphincter is a ring of muscle that tightens and relaxes to control the flow of something through a tube or opening in your body. The word comes from ancient Greek and literally means 'to bind tight.' Your body has several sphincters naturally.

Urinary relates to urine and the system that makes and stores it in your body. Any medical word with 'urinary' or 'uro-' in it is talking about that system.

Artificial has 4 syllables (ar-tih-FISH-ul), urinary has 4 syllables (YOOR-ih-nair-ee), and sphincter has 2 syllables (SFINK-tur). Put together, that's 10 syllables total.

The abbreviation is AUS. You can say the letters out separately: A-U-S. Many doctors use this shorter form when talking or writing about the device.

Esophageal sphincter is a related term—it's a muscle ring in your food pipe. Both terms use 'sphincter' to describe a muscle that controls the opening or closing of a tube in your body.

You might hear: 'The surgeon explained how an artificial urinary sphincter works to help control urine flow.' The term is used to name the specific device that is being discussed or implanted.

Many people stress the wrong syllable and say 'URinary' instead of 'urinAIRee,' or they say 'SPHINX-ter' instead of 'SFINK-tur.' Remembering that the 's' is silent at the start of sphincter helps a lot.