A patient with fluent speech and phonemic errors is likely to present with which type of aphasia?

The presence of fluent speech alongside phonemic errors is indicative of conduction aphasia. This type of aphasia is characterized by relatively intact fluency and comprehension, but significant difficulty in repeating phrases and making phonemic errors when attempting to produce speech.

In conduction aphasia, the disconnection between the areas responsible for speech production and comprehension—primarily the Broca's area (for speech production) and the Wernicke's area (for language comprehension)—is a key underlying factor. Although the person can speak fluently and understand others, they struggle to produce the correct words and may mix up sounds, leading to phonemic errors.

In contrast, Broca's aphasia typically involves non-fluent speech with significant difficulty in speech production and often retains good comprehension. Wernicke’s aphasia is marked by fluent but nonsensical speech with poor comprehension. Anomic aphasia, on the other hand, is characterized by word-finding difficulties while speech remains fluent and comprehension is generally intact. Thus, the specific combination of fluent speech and phonemic errors aligns closely with the symptoms of conduction aphasia.