In fact, many English words have dropped the first vowel so that now we have only the second vowel, by itself. Otherwise, pronounce both of the vowels clearly, slowly and independently.

archaeology
encyclopaedia
haemophilia
paedophile
palaeontology
spelaeology

aetiology
anaemia
foetus becomes fetus
foetoscopy becomes fetoscopy
oestrogen becomes estrogen

Latin Endings

The letter “b” is NOT pronounced in these words.

comb, combing, dumb, dumbest, limb

Silent Letter “d”

The letter “d” is NOT pronounced in these words.

Wednesday (sounds like “wens-day”)

Silent Letter “g”

The letter “g” is NOT pronounced in these words.

alignment (sounds like “a-line-ment”): to have things lined up

benign (sounds like “B9” or “b-NINE”): harmless, as in a benign cancer (in which the cancerous cells are contained within a capsule)

diaphragm (sounds like “die-a-framm”): sheet of muscle that divides the thoracic cavity from the abdominal cavity

The letter “l” is NOT pronounced in these words.

calm (sounds like “karm”)
calf (sounds like “karf”)
half (sounds like “harf”)

Silent Letter “p”

The letter “p” is NOT pronounced in these words.

pneumonia (sounds like “new-moan-ia”)
pneumatic (sounds like “new-matic”)
swimming (the “p” is silent in this word)

• agranular: without granules
• anaemia: without aemia
• apnoea: without breathing (during sleep)
• asexual: without sex
• atrophy: without feeding

ana- : apart

• analysis: split apart
• anaphase: apart phase
• anatomy: cut apart

bio- (bios): life

• biology: scientific study of life
• biochemistry: chemistry of living things

circum- : around
(e.g. circumnavigate; circumscribe; circumference; circumspect;)

• circumcise: to cut around

corona- : a little crown

• corona: the crown of beers(?)
• corona australis: southern crown (constellation)
• corona borealis: northern crown (constellation)
• coronary: the crown of arteries of the heart
• coronation: crowning of royalty
• coronavirus: the SARS virus is of this type

epi- : upon (e.g. epiphyte, upon a plant)

• epididymis: upon the didymis
• epiglottis: upon the glottis
• epiphysis: upon the bone
• epithelium: upon the thelium

• homosexual: the same sex.
• homeothermic: alternative spelling of homoiothermic
• homoiothermic: the same temperature, aka “warm-blooded”.
• homeostasis: the “same standing”, which means the maintaining of the internal environment of the body at constant levels of temperature, pH, solutions. (p. 89 and p. 315)
• homogeneous: equally mixed

leuco- : white
leuk- : white (alternative spelling)

• leucocytes: white blood cells
• leukaemia: too many white cells in blood (disease/condition)

meta- : change

• metamorphosis: change form
• metaphase: (of mitosis) change....
• metastases: (of cancer) change location

mono- : one
(e.g. monotone; monopoly; mono)

• monocular: one eye-piece
• monosaccharide: one sugar unit

morph- : form

• morphology: the study of form
• geomorphology: the study of landforms
• metamorph: change form
• Morpho: genus of giant birdwing butterflies

onc- : tumour

• Ultimately from Indo-European root nek- (to reach, attain) that also gave us oncology (branch of medicine dealing with tumours), from Greek oncos (mass, bulk).

para- : along side

• parallel: two lines along side each other
• para-professional: people who work alongside professionals
• paraplegia: loss of function of both legs

quadr- :four

• quadruped: walks on four legs
• quadriplegia: loss of function of four limbs

• anaemia: without blood
• leukaemia: white blood

-ase: enzyme acts on substrate to produce products

• amylase: breaks amyl (starch) into sugars
• maltase: breaks maltose (a disaccharide) into sugars
• peptidase: breaks [poly]peptides into amino acids
• protease: breaks protein into polypeptides
• sucrase: breaks sucrose (a disaccharide) into glucose (a monosaccharide)

-ate: compounds containing oxygen

• bicarbonate HCO₃^-
• carbonate CO₄^--
• nitrate NO₂^--
• phosphate PO₄^---
• sulfate SO₄^--

-cyte: cell or cell-like or cell-like body

• erythrocyte: red blood corpuscle (RBC)
• leucocyte: white blood cells
  • granulocyte: granular leucocyte.
  • monocyte: agranular leucocyte.
  • lymphocyte: agranular leucocyte.
• thrombocyte: “clotting cells” called platelets, which are only cell fragments.
• phagocytosis: (reading backwards) the process of cell eating

-id: english suffix of animal family

• Cebid: family of New World monkeys
• Cercopithecid: family of Old World monkeys
• Hominid: family of man
• Pongid: family of great apes

-idae: latin suffix for animal family

• Cebidae: new world monkey family, from the genus Cebus for the Spider Monkey (Cebus species).
• Cercopithecidae: old world monkey family from the genus Cercopithecus for the Baboon (Cercopithecus species).
• Hominidae: human family, from the genus Homo for modern man (Homo sapiens).
• Pongidae: great ape family, from the genus Pongo for the Orang-utan (Pongo pygmaeus).

-in: a protein, e.g. protein

• actin: muscle protein
• albumin: blood plasma protein
• fibrin: fibre to assist in blood clotting
• globulin: blood plasma protein
• haemoglobin: p. 91
• myosin: muscle protein
• pepsin: gastric protease
• trypsin: pancreatic protease

-itis: an infection of the...

• appendicitis: ...appendix
• bronchitis: ...bronchus
• hepatitis: …liver
• laryngitis: …larynx
• pancreatitis: …pancreas
• peritonitis: ...peritoneum
• tonsilitis: ...tonsils

• allergen: causes allergies
• antigen: causes formation of antibodies
• carcinogen: cancer-causing [216]
• fibrinogen: the source of fibrin
• gametogenesis: the formation of gametes
• genesis: the origin
• glycogen: store of glucose
• oestrogen: causes the oestrous cycle
• oncogen: cause of cancer [216]
• oogenesis: the formation of ova [241]
• pepsinogen: the source of pepsin
• spermatogenesis: formation of sperm [222, 239]
• trypsinogen: the source of trypsin

-ology: the scientific study of...

• anthropology: … man
• biology: …living things
• entomology: …insects
• geology: …the earth (geos)
• geomorphology: …landforms
• haematology: …blood
• microbiology: …under the microscope
• morphology: …form
• oncology: …tumours (aka cancers)
• zoology: …animals

-ose: sugars

• cellulose: cell sugar—in the cell walls of plants—long branching chains of glucose
• fructose: fruit sugar
• glucose: a simple sugar C₆H₁₂O₆
• lactose: milk sugar
• maltose: malt sugar—a disaccharide C₁₂H₂₂O₁₁
• sucrose: cane sugar—a disaccharide that we have on the kitchen table C₁₂H₂₂O₁₁

stoma (s.): mouth
stomata (pl.): mouths

• colostomy: literally “colon mouth”
• stomata: (pl.)

-tomy: surgical cutting

• anatomy: cut apart
• dichotomy: cut in two
• laparotomy: surgically remove …
• tracheotomy: surgically cut into trachea

-ectomy: surgical cutting and removal (ex-) becomes ec

• appendectomy: surgical removal of appendix
• lamellectomy: surgical removal of lamella (of the intervertebral disc)
• lumpectomy: surgical removal of a lump
• tonsilectomy: surgical removal of tonsils
• vasectomy: surgical removal of pieces of the vasa deferentia

suffixes meaning “little” or “small” or “a small form of” or “diminutive”

• -ette, as in names of people:
• Annette
• Bridgette
• Jeanette
• Nanette
• Ninette
• -ette, as in other English words:
• cigarette: a little cigar
• sonnett: a little song
• -let, as in:
  • leaflet: little leaf
  • platelet: little plate; cell fragments used in clotting: thrombocytes
  • tablet: little table
• -ole, as in:
• arteriole: little artery
• bronchiole: little bronchus
• -ule, as in:
  • homuncule: little human, aka homunculus
  • lobule: little lobe
  • molecule: little chemical
  • tubule: little tube
  • venule: little vein

-fera: to bear (to carry) e.g.
conifer: “bearing cones” as in pine trees;
porifera: “bearing pores” as in sponges;
transfer: to carry across (trans = across)

• seminiferous tubules: little tubes that carry semen

• diploid: two sets of chomosomes
• epididymis: upon the pair

• absorb becomes absorption
• subscribe becomes subscription

-g- becomes “-t-” (or -t- becomes “-g-”)

• intricate becomes intrigue

• appendix becomes appendectomy
• appendix (sing.) becomes appendices (pl.)
• appendix becomes appendicitis
• coccyx (n.) becomes coccygeal (adj.)
• larynx (n.) becomes laryngitis (n.)
• phalanx (sing.) becomes phalanges (pl.)
• pharynx (n.) becomes pharyngeal (adj.)

-ex (as in removal from) becomes “-ec-” or (in words about surgical removal)

• surgical removal of appendix becomes appendectomy
• surgical removal of tonsils becomes tonsilectomy
• surgical removal of a breast becomes mastectomy

Ode to the Amoeba [by] Arthur Guiterman

Essential (w.r.t. diet), e.g. essential vitamins, essential amino acids, minerals.

Curriculum Council

WHO

Avian Flu

Kwashiorkor

Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever