How to Pronounce Choledocholithiasis

Say it like this: koh-LED-oh-koh-lih-THY-ah-sis. The stress falls on the second syllable, "LED." A common mistake is putting the stress on the wrong part—remember that "LED" gets the emphasis, not the "THY" part at the end.

Break it into eight syllables like this: koh-LED-oh-koh-lih-THY-ah-sis. It's a long word, so saying it slowly one chunk at a time makes it much easier.

This word comes from Greek and breaks into three main parts: "choledocho" means the common bile duct, "litho" means stone, and "iasis" means the presence or condition of. Put together, it literally means "the presence of stones in the bile duct."

In simple terms, choledocholithiasis means there are gallstones stuck in the common bile duct—the tube that carries bile from the liver and gallbladder. It's a condition where stones have moved into a place where they shouldn't be.

Many people stress the wrong syllable and say "koh-led-oh-koh-lih-THIGH-uh-sis" (with emphasis on "THIGH"), but the correct way puts the stress on the second syllable: "koh-LED-oh-koh-lih-THY-ah-sis."

Words like "choledochotomy" (a surgical opening of the bile duct) and "lithiasis" (a condition involving stones) share the same roots. "Litho" meaning stone appears in many medical terms like "nephrolithiasis" (kidney stones).

Here's an example: "The doctor explained that the patient's imaging results showed choledocholithiasis." This sentence simply states that stones were found in the bile duct, without giving any medical advice.

Medical words are long because they use Greek and Latin roots to describe exactly what's happening in the body. Each part of the word—choledocho (bile duct), litho (stone), and iasis (condition)—adds specific meaning, so doctors can communicate precisely.