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"Ethics taught by an unethical scientist"

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


Last modified: August 8, 2010, by Jules J. Berman, Ph.D., M.D.