Question

Why is there no combining vowel in the term hepatic?

a) Combining vowels are not used after prefixes.
b) The suffix begins with a vowel.
c) There is only one word root.

Answer 1

There is no combining vowel in 'hepatic' because the suffix starts with a vowel, which makes the use of a combining vowel unnecessary for pronunciation. The option (A) is correct.

Step-by-step explanation:

The term 'hepatic' does not use a combining vowel because of rule (b), which states that combining vowels are not used when the suffix begins with a vowel. In medical terminology, words are often formed by combining word roots, prefixes, and suffixes. A combining vowel, typically 'o', is used between two-word roots or a word root and a suffix to make the term easier to pronounce.

However, if the suffix or the second part of the compound word begins with a vowel, the combining vowel is not needed, as the vowels naturally flow together in pronunciation. Therefore, in the term 'hepatic', derived from 'hepato-' meaning 'liver' and the suffix '-ic' indicating about, no combining vowel is needed because the suffix begins with the vowel 'i'. Therefore, option (A) is correct.