word lists

Stumper Terms for New MTs

AAA repair (cardio)
absence seizure (sometimes pronounced with French intonation, "ab-sonse" seizure)
acathisia/akathisia
acetabulum (ortho)
acidophilus milk
acneiform/acneform
ACOG - American College of Obstetrics & Gynecology
actinic keratosis
adenotonsillectomy
adenovirus
adhesiolysis/adhesiolytic
Adson maneuver
adventitious sounds (lungs)
aeration
air-bone gap
algologist - specialist in pain management
aliquot
"alk phos" - alkaline phosphatase
alkylating therapy (lymphocytic leukemia)
allergic shiners (circles under eyes due to allergies)
allodynia
alveolar ridge
amaurosis fugax
ameliorate
ampulla of Vater
anasarca (edema)
androgen ablation
aneuploid (cell)
angiomas (cherry)
anion gap
anisakiasis
ankle-arm index
anovulatory
anserine bursitis
antalgic gait
antecubital fossa
antiglomerular basement membrane test
antimicrosomal antibodies
antiphospholipid syndrome
Apgar score
aphthous lesion
apophysis/apophysitis
appendix testis
applanation
Archimedes' spiral
arcus senilis
Arnold-Chiari malformation
arteriolar narrowing
arteriosclerotic retinopathy
arthritide (pronounced arthridity)
arthritides (pl. of arthritis)
arthrokinematics
arylsulfatase
arytenoids
ascites (tense)
Asherman syndrome
Ashman beats/phenomenon (cardio)
asterisk sign
Athabascan (nationality)
atlantoaxial (range of motion)
atopy
attenuation
aural (ear)
Auralgan drops - for ears
avulsion/evulsion
Azmacort™ (triamcinolone) [s/l "asthma court," "asthmacort"]
azotemia

balanoposthitis
ball valve effect - urinary
ballottable
ballottement test
"bands" - band cells, immature neutrophils (related to WBC)
Barany [Bárány] sign/symptom; test (caloric test)
bas-fond fundus
base excess
basophilia
"basos" - basophils (related to WBC)
Bayonet opposed midshaft
BCG Tice strain
beam-hardening artifact (CT scan)
Bernhardt disease/paresthesia (syn. meralgia paresthetica)
beta-adrenergic
bifascicular
bile salt metabolism
biliary stent
bioprosthesis
Biopty gun
bird-like facies
birefringent microscope
Bjerrum scotomata
blebs
blue velvet syndrome
bougie à boule (bulb-tipped bougie)
boutonniere deformity
BRAT diet (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast)
branchial cleft cyst
bronchiolitis obliterans
Brudzinski sign
brux, bruxism
bucket-handle meniscus tear
buffered diluent
bulbocavernous reflex
burst and taper of steroids
BUS (female genitalia)
buttress splint, screw

CABG (sounds like "cabbage" when dictated)
café au lait spots (sounds like "cafay oh lay" when dictated)
calcium-channel blocker
caliceal stone
capital femoral epiphysis
capitular fluctuates
CAPS-free diet (caffeine, alcohol, pepper, spicy foods)
Castleman disease
catamenial
cauda equina
Cawthorne exercises, maneuvers (for vertigo)
celiac sprue
cerclage/cerclage wire
chamber platelet count
chandelier sign (OB-GYN)
Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease
cherry angioma
chevron incision/procedure
Childress test
choanae
cholesteatoma
chromopertubation
claudication
clostridium difficile (shortened usually to "C-Diff")
clue cell (OB-GYN)
COAG waveform desiccation
cobblestoning (ophth - can also apply to GI tract)
cogwheel rigidity
cold cup biopsy
Colles' fracture
compensated CHF
comorbidities
cone biopsy
cor pulmonale (sounds like cor pulmonalay when dictated)
coracoacromial ligament
CRAB diet (carrots, rice, apples, and bananas)
cracker test
crepitus/crepitations (joints and lungs reference)
cricopharyngeal
cruciferous/cruciform
cul-de-sac
curvilinear
cushingoid
cut/blend setting (GI - snare cautery)
cystitis cystica
Cytobrush technique (OB-GYN)

de Quervain disease, fracture, tendinitis, tenosynovitis, thyroiditis
deafferentation
debulking surgery
deep venous thrombophlebitis
dehiscent
dermatochalasis
descensus
desquamated
diaphragmatic pinchcock
diaphyseal
Dientamoeba fragilis trophozoites
"diff" - differential (estimate of the percentage of types of white blood cells in total WBC [white blood count]); on dictation, "CBC with diff" - CBC with differential.
diphtheroids
disequilibrium
Dix-Hallpike [or Hallpike-Dix] maneuver (for paroxysmal postional nystagmus)
doll's gaze/doll's upward gaze
DOT physical (Department of Transportation)
double-crush syndrome (ortho)
dowager's hump
drop metastasis
DSHS form (Department of Social and Health Services)
Dupuytren contracture
dysconjugate
dysdiadochokinesia
dysgeusia
dyshidrotic
dyslipidemia
dyspareunia (OB-GYN)

ectocervix
ectropion
effaced
efficacious
efflux
egophony
Ehlers-Danlos syndrome
electrodesiccation
empty-can test (PT)
empty sella syndrome (sounds like empty cellar)
en bloc (sounds like "on block" when dictated)
encopresis
end-plate sclerosis
endemic
endosteal
"eos" - eosinophils (related to WBC)
epididymides
epileptiform
"epis" - epithelial cells
EPS exam (expressed prostatic secretions)
Eritrean (Nationality - Greek)
eschar
escutcheon
EtOH (ethyl alcohol, ethanol)
evanescent
Evitrean (Nationality - African)
excrescence
exogenous
extrapyramidal
eyegrounds

facet joints
facies
fat pad impingement syndrome
faucial pillars (pertains to throat)
fibrinogen
fifth disease
filiform wart
Finkelstein maneuver
fontanelle
foramen ovale [s/l "foramen o'valley" or "foramenal valley"]
four-pillow orthopnea (can be any number other than four as well)
Fresnel lens
fulguration
fundoplication
funduscopic
fusiform (swelling)

gadolinium
galactorrhea
gastrocnemius
Gatorade (sports drink)
gauntlet cast
genu varum
gibbous
gimping, gimpy-type gait
Gleason score
glycosylated hemoglobin
Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) - pronounced ghee-lan bar-ray or ghee-yan bah-ray
guttate (drop shaped)
gutter splint
Guyon canal
gynecomastia

hairy cell leukemia
Hallpike-Dix [or Dix-Hallpike] maneuver (for paroxysmal postional nystagmus)
hamulus
Harrington rod
Hashimoto thyroiditis
HCTZ - stands for hydrochlorothiazide
hebdomadal period (weekly period of time)
Heberden nodes
Helicobacter pylori [H. pylori]
hematochezia
heparinization
hepatic flexure
hepatitis core antibody
Hoffmann sign
Homans sign
home O₂ (oxygen) [s/l "homo 2," "homo-2"]
homonymous hemianopsia
hordeolum
host disease (graft vs. host disease)
hot biopsy (GI)
HSGYV - heat, steam, gum, yawn, Valsalva (things to do for plugged ears)
Hyfrecator
hymenal ring
hyperacusis
hyperechogenic/hyperechogenicity
hypersplenism
hyphae

iatrogenic
ileal loop urinary diversion
impetigo
incremental
indices
induration
insufflation
intention tremor
international unit (IU)
- micro-international unit (µIU, mcIU)
- milli-international unit (mIU)
interossei (plural of interosseus)
intervertebral neural foramen
in toto
intractable nausea and vomiting
introitus
ipecac
ischial tuberosity
isoechoic
IV push

J point depression
Jamar dynamometer
Jendrassik maneuver
Jobst® stocking

K-wire (Kirschner wire) - 0.035, 0.045, 0.062 [inches, outside diameter] - (See United American Medical, for example)
kappa light chain excretion
Kegel exercise
keloid
Kerley('s) [s/l "curly"] A, B, or C lines. For P.J. Kerley, British radiologist; see Dorland's, Stedman's, Tabers, and/or CMT for additional information.
Kernig sign
Kiesselbach syndrome
Klinefelter syndrome

L&I (Labor and Industries - refers to Workers' Compensation claims)
labyrinthitis
Lachman sign
lactated Ringer solution
lacunar infarct
LAT (lidocaine, adrenaline [epinephrine], tetracaine) - topical anesthesia
latissimus dorsi
L-dopa (clinical name for levodopa [USP])
lead-pipe rigidity
LET (lidocaine, epinephrine, tetracaine; liposome-encapsulated tetracaine) - topical anesthesia
leukocyte esterase
Lhermitte sign
lichen planus
lichen sclerosus et atrophicus
lichenification
Lichtenstein maneuver
ligamentous rhomboid
limbus
Lisfranc strain
Lister tubercle
logorrhea (talks too much)
loofah pad
loupe magnification
loquacious
lumbar lordosis
Lyme titer
Lyme disease
lymphedema
"lymphs" - lymphocytes (related to WBC)

maceration
macular skin rash
Mallampati score/classification (related to airway assessment; prediction of difficult intubation)
Marcus Gunn pupil
marsupialization
masseters
matricectomy
meatal stenosis
medial collateral ligament
medicamentosa rhinitis
meibomian
menarche (age when menstruation starts)
meningioma
meralgia (pain in the thigh; see meralgia paresthetica)
meralgia paresthetica (syn. Roth [or Rot] disease; Bernhardt disease; Roth-Bernhardt [or Rot-Bernhardt] disease/syndrome). See Stedman's, Dorland's, Taber's, and/or Pyle's Current Medical Terminology for additional information
micro-international unit (µIU, mcIU)
micturition
migraineur (person who has migraines)
milli-international unit (mIU)
mirror biopsy
mittelschmerz
mnemonic
monofilament
"monos" - monocytes (related to WBC)
Monsel solution
morning-water brash
mortise and callus
Morton neuroma
movie sign (orthopedics)
MRSA (sounds like mersa)
Mumford procedure
Murphy sign (abdomen)
musculotendinous
myelodysplastic

nadir count (chemotherapy)
nasogastric decompression
navicular
nebulizer (asthma)
needle aspiration
nephrotic range proteinuria
neural foramen (pl. foramina)
neurapraxia
neutrophils - mature white blood cells (see polymorphonuclear neutrophils ["polys," PMNs])
Nissen fundoplication
"nitro paste" or "nitropaste" - jargon; nitroglycerin ointment
nitroglycerin
nonmotile sperm
nonsecretory islet cell carcinoma
normal-pressure hydrocephalus
normoactive (bowel tones/sounds)
normocephalic/atraumatic (HEENT exam)
normochromic, normocytic anemia
normotensive (blood pressure)
NSAID (stands for nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug)
nuchal (neck muscles)
nuclear sclerosis (ophth)
nucleated pulposus (ortho)
Nylen-Barany [Nylen-Bárány] maneuver/test

O&P (ova and parasites)
obviate
odynophagia
olecranon
oligoclonal band
OMT - osteopathic manipulation therapy
onycholysis
opticokinetic
orbicularis oculi
organophosphate
orthopnea
os naviculare
ossicle
osteal (bony)
osteochondritis dissecans
osteophytes
ostial (pertains to ostium [opening])
ostiomeatal
ostiomeatal complex (not osteomeatal; see ostial); definition
oxalate

packed cells
palisading
palmomental reflex
Pancof® (s/l "pancough") - Pancof® HC and Pancof® XR search help: pan cough
pancytopenia
papilledema
paraneoplastic syndrome
parenteral gold
paronychia
parous os (OB-GYN)
paroxysm
peau d'orange (sounds like "poh da ronge" when dictated)
PEG tube
perfusion
perle [s/l "pearl"] - a liquid-filled soft gelatin capsule; for example, Tessalon® perles (each perle contains 100 mg benzonatate) vitamin E perles
perimenopausal
pessary
pheochromocytoma (s/l fetal or feto chromocytoma)
phimosis
picogram
pie-crusting compartmental release
pilonidal
piriformis
plafond
plate thickness skin graft
ploidy
PMNs (polymorphonuclear neutrophils ["polys"])
polymorphonuclear neutrophils ("polys," PMNs)
"polys" - polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs)
postherpetic neuralgia
presbycusis
protein electrophoresis
proteinuria
prothrombin time (also partial thromboplastin time)
protoporphyrin
pseudogout
pseudopelade of Brocq (derm)
psoas sign
pterygoid [wing-shaped]; related to region of the sphenoid bone
pterygoid nerve, muscle, plate, process, canal, fissure, fossa, hamulus, lamina, notch, plexus
pulmonary capillary wedge pressure
purpuric
pyramidal

rabbiting (slang for person who constantly twitches their nose due to a cold, allergic rhinitis, etc.)
raccoon eyes
Raji cell assay
RAST test (allergy)
Raynaud phenomenon
rebound tenderness
recalcitrant
red reflex
renin-mediated hypertension
reperfusing
respirophasic
restless leg syndrome
rhinitis medicamentosa
Rockport shoes
rolfing
Romberg sign
R on T phenomenon
Roth-Bernhardt [or Rot-Bernhardt] disease/syndrome (syn. meralgia paresthetica)
Roth disease (syn. meralgia paresthetica)
Roth spots
Rowasa enema
rugated
Rule of Nines (formula for determining percentage of body surface which has been burned)

saccades
salvage chemotherapy
Samsoon-Young modified Mallampati classification for airway assessment
scalene
scarlatina
sciatic notch
scleral icterus
semiovale (This almost sounds like Seminole valley when dictated!)
sequelae
sequestration
seropositive rheumatoid arthritis
shotty (not shoddy) lymph nodes
sick sinus syndrome
sling and swathe - for shoulder immobilization (photo)
small-branch retinal vein occlusion
Spansule (trademarked dosage form; sustained-release capsule)
Speed sign
spray and stretch (hamstrings exercise)
sprue
Spurling maneuver
squamocolumnar junction (OB-GYN)
squat fly exercise
stained spun sediment
status asthmaticus
steatorrhea
stocking distribution peripheral neuropathy
straight-laced, high-top, leather orthopedic shoes
subcapital fracture
subcarinal
subserosal fibroid
subtalar
suction curettage
sugar-tong splint
sustention tremor (a.k.a. postural tremor)
sweat chloride test (for cystic fibrosis)
sympathectomy
syndesmosis

TAC (tetracaine, adrenaline [epinephrine], cocaine) - topical anesthesia; prepared by pharmacist
T-cell subset
Tagalog (Ethnicity - a language)
tail of Spence
tandem Romberg
tangential (psych)
tardive
tear lake
telangiectasis
tenaculum
tendinitis
tendinous
tenesmus
tense ascites
tertiary
thallium stress test
thelarche
thenar eminence
third spacing of fluids
tidal breathing
tinea versicolor
Tinel sign
TNTC (too numerous to count)
tonoclonic
tonus (muscle)
torque
torticollis
transsphenoidal
trapezia (plural of trapezium)
trapezius muscle (pl. trapezius muscles NOT trapezia)
trigeminy
trigone
triradiate cartilage
trismus
tubotympanics
tubulovillous polyp
tussive syndrome
twig-vein occlusion
Tzanck prep/preparation/test/cells (sounds like "zank" on dictation)

umbo
uncinate
Unna boot
upstrokes
urobilinogen
urolithiasis
uterosacral ligament

valproic acid level (Depakote level)
Valsalva maneuver
variegated
vasomotor rhinitis
venous lake
Veress needle (not Verres) - See: AAMT BOS, p. 362. Named for its inventor [1938], Dr. Janos Veress of Hungary
vermilion border (red margin of upper/lower lip)
vertiginous
vibrissae
villoglandular
violaceous
vitiligo
vitreous detachment
volar
von Willebrand factor, disease

Waddell sign
water brash
wbc (white blood cell)
WBC (white blood count)
Weber-Rinne testing
Westergren sedimentation rate
white-coat hypertension (elevation of BP due to visiting physician)
wire-guided excisional biopsy
wolffian
wry neck

Xanax/Zantac - sound alike drugs: Xanax (anxiety), Zantac (stomach problems)