-ectomy, -ectome, -ectomize
(Greek: a suffix; cut, excise, surgical removal of)
The auditory, or acoustic, meatomastoidectomies consists of two passages in the ear; the external acoustic meatus leads from the auricle to the tympanic membrane (eardrum) and the internal acoustic meatus which is for the passage of nerves and blood vessels.
2. Surgical removal of a medullary substance or part.
A meniscectomy is performed when a meniscus, or connective tissue, has been badly damaged, usually as a result of an injury which causes the knee, or knees, to lock or to give way repeatedly.
Removing the damaged part of the structural component with a meniscectomy can cure the symptoms of the injury; however, it can also increase the likelihood of premature osteoarthritis; so, the operation is avoided whenever it is possible.
The peritoneum is the smooth transparent membrane that lines the abdomen and doubles back over the surfaces of the internal organs to form a continuous container or sac.
Usually it's done in the case of a ductal papilloma, most of which are benign, but which can occasionally be malignant.
The surgery involves a very small incision, often made where it won't show, and removal of very little tissue.
Related cutting-word units: cast-; castrat-; -cise, -cide; mutil-; put-; sec-, seg-; temno-; -tomy; trunc-.
-Ectomy Word-Sources of Definitions