How to Pronounce Mitral Regurgitation
Definition, meaning, and phonetic spelling
Mitral Regurgitation Pronunciation
MY-tral reh-gur-jih-TAY-shun
Stressed syllable in ALL CAPS · hyphens separate syllables
Syllable Breakdown
MY
stress here
tral reh
gur
jih
TAY
stress here
shun
6 syllables
What is Mitral Regurgitation?
... prolapse (MVP) happens when the flaps of the mitral valve become floppy and don't close tightly. In some cases, blood may leak backwards through the valve to the chamber it came from. This is called backflow, or regurgitation. When there is a lot of mitral valve ...
Definition sourced from MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine
Questions About Mitral Regurgitation
How do you pronounce mitral regurgitation?
+
Say it like this: MY-tral reh-gur-jih-TAY-shun. The stress falls on the first syllable of each word—MY in mitral and TAY in regurgitation. It helps to say each word separately first, then put them together smoothly.
What does the word mitral mean?
+
Mitral comes from the word miter, which is a type of hat worn by bishops that has two points. The mitral valve in your heart has two flaps, so it was named after this two-pointed hat shape. It's a great way to remember which valve we're talking about!
What does regurgitation mean in medical language?
+
Regurgitation means to flow backward or come back up. The word comes from Latin: re- means "back" and gurgitare means "to flood or surge." In medical terms, it describes a backward flow of blood instead of the normal one-way flow.
Can you break mitral regurgitation into syllables?
+
Yes! Mitral breaks into MY-tral (2 syllables), and regurgitation breaks into reh-gur-jih-TAY-shun (5 syllables). The whole phrase has 7 syllables total, but you mainly need to stress MY and TAY.
What is the short form or abbreviation for mitral regurgitation?
+
Mitral regurgitation is often shortened to MR in medical writing and conversations. You'd say it as "M-R" (letter by letter) rather than as a word.
What is a common mistake when pronouncing this term?
+
A common mistake is stressing the wrong syllable—saying reh-GUR-jih-tay-shun instead of reh-gur-jih-TAY-shun. Remember that the stress should land on the TAY syllable, not on GUR. Listening to it said aloud a few times helps lock in the correct stress.
What does mitral regurgitation mean in plain English?
+
In simple terms, it means the mitral valve doesn't shut completely, so some blood leaks backward. Instead of flowing only one way through the heart, some blood sloshes back where it came from during a heartbeat.
What other medical words use the root mitral?
+
You might hear mitral stenosis (a narrowing of the mitral valve), mitral valve prolapse (when the valve bulges), or mitral insufficiency (another name for mitral regurgitation). All of these describe different problems with that same two-flapped valve.