How to Pronounce Autoimmune Hepatitis

Say it like this: aw-toh-ih-MYOON hep-ah-TY-tis. The stress falls on the third syllable of the second word—say "MYOON" louder and longer than the other parts. The first word sounds like "auto" (as in automobile) plus "immune" (like your body's defense system).

"Autoimmune" means your own immune system is attacking your body by mistake. The word breaks down into "auto" (meaning self) and "immune" (meaning your body's defense system), so it literally means "self-attacking immunity."

"Hepatitis" means inflammation of the liver. It comes from "hepat-" which is the Greek word for liver, plus "-itis" which always means inflammation. So whenever you see a body part followed by "-itis," you know it means that part is inflamed.

Break it like this: au-toh-ih-MYOON / hep-ah-TY-tis. The first word has four syllables, and the second word has three syllables. The main stress lands on "MYOON" in the first word.

Many people stress the wrong syllable and say "AU-toh-im-YOON" or "auto-im-MYOON," but the correct stress is on "MYOON"—the third syllable. It helps to remember that the stress moves toward the second word: auto-im-MYOON hep-ah-TY-tis.

The abbreviation is AIH, pronounced by saying each letter: A-I-H. You'll often see doctors and medical writers use "AIH" as a shorter way to refer to this condition in charts and reports.

Words like "hepatitis B" and "hepatitis C" also use the liver root "hepat-." You might also hear "hepatologist" (a doctor who specializes in liver diseases) or "hepatic" (an adjective meaning related to the liver). All of these words are talking about the liver in different ways.

You might hear a sentence like: "The patient was diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis, so the doctor explained how the condition affects the liver." This shows the word being used to name and describe the specific medical condition.

In medical English, stress typically falls on the syllable right before a suffix like "-itis." In this case, the stress lands on "MYOON" because it's part of "immune," which comes right before "hepatitis." This pattern helps you remember where to stress similar medical words.