How to Pronounce Insulinoma

Say it like this: in-soo-lih-NOH-mah. Break it into four syllables, and put the stress on the third syllable—the 'NOH' part should sound the loudest and longest. The first part sounds like 'insulin' (the hormone), and the end sounds like 'oma' (which means tumor).

Many people accidentally stress the wrong syllable and say in-SOO-lih-noh-mah instead of in-soo-lih-NOH-mah. Remember: the stress goes on 'NOH,' not on 'SOO.' Listening to the word out loud a few times can help you lock in the correct stress.

'Insulin' is a hormone your body makes to control blood sugar levels. 'Oma' comes from Greek and means 'tumor' or 'growth.' So 'insulinoma' literally means 'a tumor of insulin-producing cells.'

Think of it as 'a tumor that makes too much insulin.' It's a growth in the pancreas made up of cells that normally produce insulin, but in this case they produce way too much of it.

Other medical words ending in 'oma' all refer to tumors: carcinoma (a cancer tumor), melanoma (a skin cancer), and lymphoma (a cancer of white blood cells). Once you know 'oma' means tumor, these words become easier to understand.

You might hear: 'The doctor explained that an insulinoma is a rare type of pancreatic tumor.' Or: 'She was diagnosed with an insulinoma after her blood tests showed unusual insulin levels.'

In medical writing, it's sometimes abbreviated as 'IMA,' but this abbreviation is not as common as abbreviations for other conditions. Most doctors and patients just say the full word 'insulinoma.'

In medical terms that end in 'oma,' the stress almost always falls on the syllable right before 'oma'—that's the 'NOH' in insulinoma. This is a pattern you'll notice in other tumor names like carcinoma (kar-sih-NOH-mah) and lymphoma (lim-FOH-mah).