-ectomy, -ectome, -ectomize
(Greek: a suffix; cut, excise, surgical removal of)
2. Surgical removal of the lacrimal sac.
A dermoid cyst is a nonmalignant cystic tumor containing elements derived from the ectoderm; such as, hair, teeth, or skin; also known as a dermoid tumor.
Most commonly a discectomy is done when a disc is herniated (slipped disc) and is causing symptoms of pain and nerve irritation or injury.
Sometimes, a discectomy is done to stop the motion across a portion of the spine and create a solid structure (spinal fusion).
A diverticulum refers to a small sac-like structure that sometimes forms in the walls of the intestines where diverticula can trap particles of food (especially small seeds and undigested grains) and become very inflamed and painful (this condition is called diverticulitis).
As a person ages, pressure within the large intestine (colon) causes pockets of tissue (sacs) that push out from the colon walls. The plural form is diverticula. Diverticula can occur throughout the colon but are most common near the end of the left side of the colon, the sigmoid colon.
In human anatomy, the sigmoid colon is the lower colon (the lower portion of the large bowel).
The word sigmoid came from the Greek letter "sigma" which is shaped like a "C". It also means curved in two directions like the letter "S". A sigmoid curve is an S-shaped curve.
The sigmoid flexure of the colon is the point where it makes the turn from transverse to descending colon.
Sigmoidoscopy is a procedure in which a viewing tube (a sigmoidoscope) is inserted up into the sigmoid colon. The term rectosigmoid refers to both the rectum and the sigmoid colon above it.
The duodenum is the first or proximal (nearest) portion of the small intestine, extending from the pylorus (opening in a vertebrate from the stomach into the intestine) to the jejunum (the portion of the small intestine that extends from the duodenum to the ileum), so called because it is about twelve finger widths in length.
The ileum is the last portion of the small intestine that communicates with the large intestine.
A cautery is an instrument or substance used to seal a wound or to destroy damaged or infected tissue by burning.
Removal of a clot at its original site is called thrombectomy.
A extrauterine pregnancy refers to condition outside the uterus or the womb which is the opposite of intrauterine or inside the uterus.
"Normal pregnancies" are intrauterine while extrauterine pregnancies can occur in the uterine tube or abdominal cavity and are described as abnormal.
Related cutting-word units: cast-; castrat-; -cise, -cide; mutil-; put-; sec-, seg-; temno-; -tomy; trunc-.
-Ectomy Word-Sources of Definitions