Books by Jules J. Berman, covers

CONFUSED WORDS

The following are terms that are often confused with totally different terms with similar spelling or pronunciation.
  1. abducted <=> abdicated
  2. aboral <=> arboreal
  3. acanthocytes <=> acanthocystis
  4. acetazolamide <=> acetahexamide
  5. acinic <=> actinic
  6. acinus <=> a sinus
  7. alcoholic <=> alkalosis
  8. alkalosis <=> ankylosis
  9. ambien <=> amen
  10. amiodarone <=> amrinone
  11. anisakiasis <=> anisokaryosis
  12. anlage <=> analog
  13. aphasia <=> aphagia
  14. aptotic <=> apoptotic
  15. arboreal <=> aboriginal
  16. arteritis <=> arthritis
  17. auxilliary <=> axillary
  18. auxin <=> axon
  19. biennial <=> bianual (biennial is every 2 years; biannual is every 6 months)
  20. bilingual <=> by lingual
  21. biomatrix <=> biometrics
  22. brachial <=> branchial (brachial refers to an arm)
  23. branchial <=> bronchial (branchial refers to the the embryonic arches and clefts homologous to gills)
  24. callous <=> callus
  25. cerumen <=> serum (cerumen is ear wax, serum is the clear liquid that separates out from clotted blood)
  26. chancre <=> chance
  27. chancre <=> chancroid (syphilitic ulcer due to the spirochete Treponema pallidum v. sexually transmitted genital sore due to Haemophilus ducreyi)
  28. chlorpropamide <=> chlorpromazine
  29. choleric <=> caloric
  30. cholic <=> colic
  31. chondroid <=> chordoid
  32. chondroma <=> chordoma
  33. chorionic <=> chronic
  34. chromatin <=> chromatic (nuclear material v. relating to colors)
  35. cingula <=> singular (a gyrus in the brain v. not plural)
  36. circumbscribed <=> circumcised (a surrounding demarcation v. removal of foreskin)
  37. cirrhosis <=> serositis (liver fibrosis and damage v. inflammation of the outer lining of organs)
  38. cirrhosis <=> xerosis (liver fibrosis and damage v. dry skin)
  39. clonidine <=> klonipin
  40. clozapine <=> olanzapine
  41. coitus <=> colitis (intercourse v. inflammation of large bowel)
  42. colic <=> colonic (infantile stomach ache v. relating to colon)
  43. cometologist <=> cosmetologist
  44. conscience <=> conscious
  45. contin <=> oxycontin
  46. cosmologist <=> cosmetologist
  47. costal <=> coastal (costal refers to ribs)
  48. culdoscopy <=> culposcopy
  49. cygnet <=> signet
  50. decease <=> disease
  51. deceased <=> desist (you can cease and desist without being deceased)
  52. diabetic <=> dietetic
  53. diploic <=> diploid
  54. disc <=> disk (synonyms, but where one form is commonly used, the other form is unwelcome)
  55. disease <=> decease
  56. diseased <=> deceased
  57. dyskaryosis <=> dyskeratosis
  58. ectatic <=> ecstatic
  59. endochondral <=> enchondral (these are synonyms)
  60. ensure <=> insure
  61. epitaxis <=> epistaxis
  62. erythemic <=> erythremic (erythemic means red and erythremic refers to red cells)
  63. exxon <=> exon
  64. facial <=> fascial
  65. facies <=> faeces
  66. familiar <=> familial
  67. fetal <=> fatal
  68. firearm <=> forearm
  69. flomax <=> volmax
  70. flutamide <=> flumadine
  71. foreword <=> forward
  72. hallux <=> helicis
  73. helicis <=> hallux
  74. hematoma <=> hepatoma
  75. herpetic <=> herpangina
  76. huff <=> hof
  77. hydatid <=> hydatidiform
  78. ileitis <=> iliitis
  79. ileum <=> ilium
  80. intercostal <=> intercoastal (between ribs v. between coasts)
  81. isotope <=> isotrope
  82. isotrope <=> isotope
  83. kalemic <=> cholemic
  84. kerasin <=> keratin
  85. kerasin <=> kerosene
  86. keratinic <=> actinic
  87. keratinic <=> keratotic
  88. keratinocytic <=> keratinolytic
  89. keratosis <=> ketosis
  90. lipoma <=> lymphoma
  91. lobulated <=> lobated
  92. malleolus <=> malleus
  93. meningitis <=> meningitidis
  94. milia <=> milium
  95. miotic <=> meiotic
  96. miotic <=> mitotic
  97. mitosis <=> meiosis
  98. mitotic <=> meiotic
  99. mucous <=> mucus (verb v. noun)
  100. myelofibrosis <=> myofibrosis (fibrosis of bone marrow v fibrosis of muscle)
  101. myeloid <=> myoid (of bone marrow v. of muscle)
  102. myiasis <=> meiosis
  103. myofibroma <=> myelofibroma
  104. myosis <=> meiosis
  105. nucleus <=> nucleolus
  106. oncology <=> ontology
  107. ontogeny <=> ontology
  108. orchid <=> orchard
  109. orchidectomy <=> orchiectomy
  110. organic <=> organoid
  111. paladin <=> palladin (Paladin is a heroic knight, and palladin is a protein overexpressed in pancreatic cancer named after the renaissance architect Andrea Palladio.)
  112. palatal <=> palatial (of the mouth's palat v. big gaudy house)
  113. paleodontology <=> paleontology
  114. palette <=> palate
  115. palpation <=> palpitation
  116. palpitation <=> palpation
  117. panel <=> penal
  118. panel <=> penile
  119. parental <=> parenteral
  120. parotid gland <=> carotid gland
  121. pathogen <=> parthenogen
  122. pathogenesis <=> parthenogenesis
  123. penal <=> penile
  124. penicillamine <=> penicillin
  125. perineal <=> perennial
  126. perineal <=> perianal
  127. perineal <=> peritoneal
  128. perineal <=> peroneal
  129. pipette <=> pipetta
  130. plaque <=> plague
  131. pleiotropic <=> pleiotypic
  132. plural <=> pleural
  133. polypoid <=> polyploid
  134. porphyria <=> porphyruria
  135. potable <=> portable
  136. prilosec <=> prozac
  137. proptosis <=> ptosis
  138. prostrate <=> prostate
  139. protuberant <=> protruberant
  140. pseudomonas <=> pseudonymous
  141. ptosis <=> tylosis
  142. pyrolysis <=> paralysis
  143. quinine <=> quinidine
  144. rachischisis <=> rachitis
  145. rachischitic <=> rachitic
  146. radial <=> radical
  147. retrovir <=> ritonavir
  148. rett <=> ret
  149. rosacea <=>rosea
  150. saliva <=> salvia
  151. semantic <=> somatic
  152. serous <=> serious
  153. severe <=> sever
  154. silicon <=> silicone
  155. singleton <=> singultus (one of a kind v. hiccup)
  156. somatic <=> semantic
  157. sonography <=> stenography
  158. taenia <=> tinea
  159. takoma <=> trachoma
  160. thecoma <=> thekeoma
  161. tinnitus <=> tinnitis
  162. tophus <=> typhus
  163. torsion <=> distortion
  164. trachoma <=> trachea
  165. tribonema <=> treponema
  166. trichina <=> trachoma
  167. trichina <=> trichura
  168. trichinosis <=> trichosis
  169. trichinosis <=> trichuriasis
  170. typhoid fever <=> paratyphoid fever
  171. urethral <=> ureteral (urethra is not the ureter)
  172. vagitis <=> vaginitis (inflammation of vagus nerve v inflammation of vagina)
  173. venous <=> venus (of the veins v. the planet)
  174. zocor <=> cozaar

Last modified: Feb 6, 2010, by Jules J. Berman, Ph.D., M.D.

Books by Jules J. Berman, covers