Cholecystectomy is a surgical procedure to remove the gallbladder. It is typically performed to treat gallstone-related pain or infection. The term combines Greek roots for bile, bladder, and surgical removal, and is used in medical contexts and formal discussions of gastroenterology.
US: rhotic /ɹ/ with flatter vowels; UK: non-rhotic-ish in connected speech; AU: broader vowels and flatter r only in borrowed contexts. Vowel changes: chole (/ˈkoʊl/ or /ˈkɒl/), cyst (/sɪst/), ectomy (/ˈɛk.tə.mi/). In all accents, keep TEK as the peak syllable; ensure the vowel in -ectomy is distinct from -ec- to avoid merging. IPA references: US /ˌkɒ.lə.sɪsˈtɛk.tə.mi/, UK /ˌkɒ.lə.sɪsˈtɛk.tə.mi/, AU /ˌkɒl.ə.sɪsˈtɛk.tə.mi/.
"The patient underwent a laparoscopic cholecystectomy to address chronic cholelithiasis."
"During the briefing, the surgeon described the risks and benefits of cholecystectomy."
"Cholecystectomy is one of the most common abdominal surgeries performed today."
"Postoperative recovery after cholecystectomy often involves diet adjustments and activity guidelines."
Cholecystectomy derives from older medical Latin and Greek roots. Chole- comes from Greek chole, meaning bile or gall. cyst- comes from Greek kustis, cystis, meaning sac or bladder, referring to the gallbladder. -ectomy is a Greek-derived surgical suffix meaning removal or excision, from ek, meaning out, and gignesthai, meaning to be born or produced. The term first appeared in medical literature in the 19th century as anatomy and surgery advanced. The combination describes the removal of the bile sac. The oddity for learners is the unexpected consonant cluster chole- with a long e and the trisyllabic stress pattern, which can be challenging to parse in non-medical contexts. Early uses were in academic medical texts; over time, the term entered broader clinical language and education materials for students and patients. By the late 20th century, laparoscopic cholecystectomy popularized the term in everyday surgical discourse, though the pronunciation remained technically the same, with attention to phrasal breaks in clinical settings.
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Words that rhyme with "Cholecystectomy"
-omy sounds
-me) sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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US/UK/AU pronunciation centers on three primary stresses: ko-LE-sis-TEK-te-mee (ipa US: /ˌkɒl.ə.sɪsˈtɛk.tə.mi/). Break it into chi-: chole- as KOL-ə, cyst- as SIS-t, with -ectomy yielding -TEK-tə-mee. Start with 'KO-luh-SIS-tuh-tek-tee-mee' with the main stress on the -TEK- syllable. Visualize it as a three-beat medical word: cho-le-cystec-tomy, but spoken as cholecystectomy with syllabic clarity on 'tek.' If you struggle, practice the three chunks: chole + cyst + ectomy, aligning the stress on the middle-to-late syllable. Audio references: YouGlish or Pronounce can provide native samples for all three dialects.
Common errors: misplacing the stress (trying to stress the initial 'chol' or the end), mispronouncing ch- as 'kho' or 'sh' sound, and running the 'ectomy' too quickly. Correction: practice the three segments: chole- (KO-luh), cyst- (SIS-t), -ectomy (TEK-tuh-mee). Emphasize TEK in the middle–late part and clearly enunciate the -t- between SIS and TEK. Use a slow tempo, then increase speed while maintaining the syllable boundaries.
US tends to reduce some vowels slightly and place primary stress on -TEK-, with rhotics typical and clear 'l' sounds. UK keeps similar pattern but may have slightly crisper 't' consonants and vowel qualities closer to British English reductions. Australian often features broader vowel sounds; the 'o' in chole may be shorter, and the overall rhythm can be a touch more syllable-timed. Use IPA: US /ˌkɒ.lə.sɪsˈtɛk.tə.mi/, UK /ˌkɒ.lə.sɪsˈtɛk.tə.mi/, AU /ˌkɒl.ə.sɪsˈtɛk.tə.mi/.
Three main challenges: the cluster chole- with the 'k' sound and long o, the mid-root cyst with a short i before the -t- infix, and the -ectomy suffix that stacks two consonants before a vowel onset. The sequence chole-cyst-ectomy creates a fast, multi-morpheme mouth movement. Slow it to syllable-by-syllable chunks: chole-cyst-ec-tomy, then blend while keeping TEK-tə-mee distinct.
No silent letters in the standard medical spelling. Every letter contributes to the pronunciation: ch (pronounced k), o (short o), le (luh), cyst (sist), ectomy (ek-tuh-mee). The challenge is not silent letters but distributing the syllables and producing three reasonably separate morphemes without losing clarity. Focus on the TEK-tə-mee ending to anchor the final syllables.
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