How to Pronounce Neck of Radius

Say it like this: "nek uv RAY-dee-us." The first word rhymes with "check," and the second word is just the letter "of." The stress lands on the first syllable of "radius"—that's the "RAY" part. So the whole phrase sounds like you're saying "nek-uv-RAY-dee-us" with emphasis on RAY.

The radius is one of the two bones in your forearm (the other is the ulna). The word "radius" comes from Latin and originally meant "spoke of a wheel" or "rod." Ancient doctors named the bone this way because it looks a bit like a spoke extending from the center of a wheel.

The neck is simply the narrow, thin part of a bone that connects the wider head at the top to the thicker shaft below. Think of it like the neck of a bottle—it's the squeezed-in section between two wider parts.

It's the narrow section of the radius bone that sits just below the head (the rounded top part). Since the radius runs along the thumb side of your forearm, the neck of the radius is on the thumb side of your forearm, very close to your elbow.

Many people stress the wrong syllable and say "RAD-ee-us" (with stress on the first syllable) or "rah-DEE-us" (with stress on the middle). The correct way is "RAY-dee-us," with the stress on the first syllable that rhymes with "say."

Break it like this: "neck" (one syllable) + "of" (one syllable) + "RAY-dee-us" (three syllables). So altogether it's five syllables: neck-of-RAY-dee-us.

You might hear "radial artery" or "radial nerve"—these are blood vessels and nerves that run along the radius bone. The word "radial" just means "related to the radius." You could also hear "radioulnar," which means something involves both the radius and the ulna bones.

Here's an example: "The doctor explained that the injury was located in the neck of the radius, which is the narrow part of the forearm bone just below the rounded head." This helps you understand where doctors are talking about when they use this term.