How to Pronounce Cardiothoracic Surgeon

Say it like this: kar-dee-oh-thor-AS-ik SUR-jun. The stress falls on the AS syllable in the middle of the word, so you say it a bit louder and longer than the other parts. The word surgeon at the end sounds like SUR-jun, rhyming with 'person.'

The stressed syllable is AS, which appears in the second half of the word. A common mistake is stressing the first syllable (CAR) instead, but the emphasis actually lands on AS in tho-RAS-ic.

Break it into six parts like this: car-dee-oh-thor-AS-ic. Each syllable is roughly one beat when you say it slowly, and the AS gets a bit more emphasis than the others.

'Cardio' comes from the Greek word for heart, and 'thoracic' comes from the Greek word for chest. So cardiothoracic literally means 'heart and chest,' which is exactly what this type of surgeon works on.

You could say 'heart and lung surgeon' or 'chest surgeon.' These phrases mean the same thing and are easier to say, though doctors use the full term 'cardiothoracic surgeon' in medical settings.

Other medical words with 'cardio' include cardiologist (a doctor who treats heart problems), cardiac (relating to the heart), and cardiovascular (relating to the heart and blood vessels). All of these words share the Greek root for heart.

You might say: 'The hospital has three experienced cardiothoracic surgeons on staff.' This sentence simply names the type of specialist without any medical details.

Sometimes doctors write 'CT surgeon' as shorthand, but this can be confusing because CT also stands for 'CT scan' (a type of imaging). It's clearer to say or write out the full term 'cardiothoracic surgeon.'