Post on 08-Jan-2017
GRAMMAR: Use of
Hyphens in
Medical Writing
Nouns Combined With Adjectives• Some nouns are combined with adjectives to indicate the condition of a person, place
or thing• Such combinations are hyphenated, such as cholesterol-induced, antibiotic-resistant,
water-soluble– The first word in such combinations is always a noun which is followed by an
adjective
Examples:– The compound used for stabilizing the growth media is water-soluble (Not watery-
soluble)– Transcutaneous ultrasonography is useful for studying peripheral blood flow,
particularly in the assessment of endothelium-mediated vasodilation (Not endothelial-mediated)
Nouns Combined With Nouns
• Nouns which are linked to nouns usually indicate that they are of equal value, or that they have some common characteristics
Example: – His knowledge as a researcher-debater-educationist shows his hard work in his
field of study• Note that the slash mark (/) should not be used in noun-noun combination as it
will indicate that the words are separated, and not connected with each otherExample:
– His knowledge as a researcher/debater shows his hard work in his field of study
Numerals and Hyphens
• Hyphens are used for writing the quantity in numerals, such as 3.5-fold, 15-fold etc.
• When writing spelt-out words, hyphens are not used, such as threefold, tenfold etc.
Examples: – A threefold decrease in the growth of bacteria was observed in cell-culture media
containing antibiotics– Due to increased use of organic manures, the nutritional value of the lentils has
increased 2-fold
To Hyphenate, or Not to Hyphenate!
Hyphens and Prefixes
• A hyphen is used when a proper noun, or an adjective follows a prefix
Examples: – Anti-inflammatory agents, post-mortem, anti-social behavior etc.
• Some words starting with re- should be hyphenated to avoid ambiguity
Examples: – Re-creation, re-mark, re-solve etc.
Non-breaking Hyphens
• Are used to avoid breaking of a text the end of a line • Not really a hyphen; it is a command not to hyphenate
– A non-breaking hyphen in front of a word, or a group of characters, such as a phone number, web address or email address, will not let the characters be hyphenated
• Can be inserted in a word document: – By: Ctrl + shift + hyphen, or
– By selecting: Insert > Symbol> Special Characters > Non breaking Hyphen from
the main menu
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