COMBINATIONS OF LATIN LETTERS IN MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY

Abstract

This article is  about combinations of  Latin letters  in medical terminology. Latin remains the foundational language of contemporary medical terminology. One of its characteristic features is the use of specific combinations of letters—digraphs—that function as single phonetic units. The digraphs ae, oe, au, eu, qu, ph, ch, th play an essential role in word formation and pronunciation of medical terms. This article examines the linguistic nature of these digraphs, identifies their semantic value, and demonstrates their usage in medical terminology through exemplary lexical units. They are pronounced  as one syllable.