How To Form Plurals Of Medical Words in OET?

Medical words can be confusing. It is often difficult to create plurals. One of the commonest rules is to add -s at the end of the word. But, not all the medical words may become plural when you add -s. There are so many rules to create plurals of the medical words. In this article, we have explained a little about how to form plurals in medical English. 

You need to know the basic rules. If you know them then it will become easy for you to create plurals from any singular word.
 
There are so many exceptions. You need to memorize the rules in order to gain proficiency in creating plurals. 

Some words that end on -is can be converted into plural by dropping the -is and adding -ides.

Example:

Epididymis - singular 

Epididymides - plural

Some words ending in -us can be converted into plurals by dropping  the -us and adding -era or -ora at the end of the word. 

Viscus will become viscera

Corpus will become corpora.

Words ending in -ix “or -ax can be converted into plurals using two different prefixes. Check out the examples given below:

The singular word appendix will have plural such as appendices or appendixes.

If the medical word ends in -ion then the plural can be created by adding only -s at the end of the word.

For example

Chorion is singular. Its plural is chorions.

Other forms of singulars and plurals are as follows:

Singular - Plural

Vas - Vasa
Pos - Pontes
Femur - Femora
Cornu - Cornua
Paries - Parietes
Diagnosis - Diagnoses
Alveolus - Alveoli
Vertebra - Vertebrae
Cortex - Cortices
Thorax - Thoraces
Sarcoma - Sarcomata
Spermatozoon - Spermatozoa
nx larynx Drop the x and add ges larynges
y deformity Drop the y and add ies deformities
yx calyx Drop the yx and add yces calyces
en foramen Drop the en and add ina foramina

Remember, a small mistake can mean a lot. You will have to be very careful when you make plurals in the writing, reading, listening and speaking sub-tests. Use of wrong plurals will show that you are not good at English. 

Practice a little to learn how you can create plurals from the singulars. 

Take advice from the experienced professionals. 

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