[HN Gopher] In medicine what's the difference between an -ectomy...
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       In medicine what's the difference between an -ectomy, an -ostomy,
       and an -otomy? (1986)
        
       Author : tzs
       Score  : 65 points
       Date   : 2024-05-15 20:01 UTC (2 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.straightdope.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.straightdope.com)
        
       | mmastrac wrote:
       | In pop culture, there's a very common mixup between tracheotomy
       | (the actual incision or cut made into the trachea) and
       | tracheostomy (the overall procedure involving the creation of the
       | hole, aka stoma).
        
         | hn_throwaway_99 wrote:
         | Ooooh, that's a great one. Had to pronounce them out in my head
         | a couple times to realize I make that mistake all the time.
        
         | m463 wrote:
         | So I guess tracheology is the study of throats, and
         | tracheaectomy is what werewolves would do.
        
           | stapedium wrote:
           | To make even more confusing, laryngology is the surgical
           | specialty you would go see for a tracheal issue in the neck.
           | (where a trach is performed) And a head and neck surgeon
           | (oncologic surgery) is the one that performs the most
           | laryngectomies. Fricken otolaryngologists...isnt the one name
           | complicated enough.
        
         | madeofpalk wrote:
         | I've been watching through Greys Anatomy all year, and
         | eventually they just shorten it to trach', which covers both I
         | guess!
        
       | acheron wrote:
       | When I was a newborn I had a "pyloromyotomy", wherein they cut
       | the pyloric muscle. As I understand it, an -otomy is cutting
       | something, a -myotomy is specifically cutting a muscle.
        
         | camillomiller wrote:
         | Yep, from mys, muscle and mouse (because the movement of the
         | muscle reminds the sudden movements of mice). Fibromyalgia ->
         | Muscle Fiber Pain.
        
       | tnias23 wrote:
       | Add -ectomy to the list
       | 
       | Edit: I'm stupid
        
         | codetrotter wrote:
         | > Add -ectomy to the list
         | 
         | It's already there both in the title and in the article
        
           | smegsicle wrote:
           | i think he meant -otomy
        
             | codnee wrote:
             | That's also there. They mean -ostomy.
        
               | dpig_ wrote:
               | That, too, is already there. They mean -opocene.
        
       | spapas82 wrote:
       | Well in greek
       | 
       | - tome means cut, incision
       | 
       | - ek-tome is out+cut (ie remove)
       | 
       | - stomia, is from stomio which means mouthpiece
        
         | deathanatos wrote:
         | Your comment reminds me of my rhetoric professor, who was
         | Greek, and who once expressed to us that memorizing the terms
         | in our lesson should be easy, since they were literally just
         | the words themselves.
         | 
         | Of course, it was all Greek to me.
        
           | romanhn wrote:
           | Memorizing a large amount of Greek and Latin word roots was
           | my superpower when I was studying for the SATs. I could
           | decipher a large chunk of words even if I've never seen them
           | before.
        
           | aatd86 wrote:
           | Given your username, seems to have stuck. ;o)
        
       | 867-5309 wrote:
       | _salpingo-oophorectomy_ was the first word that sparked my
       | interest in etymology
        
       | lainga wrote:
       | I am hijacking this thread to express my general displeasure at
       | popular use of the word _claustrophobic_.  "The room is very
       | claustrophobic"?? Really? How else does the wainscoting feel
       | today?
        
       | amyjess wrote:
       | Similarly, -itis vs. -osis.
       | 
       | -itis means the part of the body is swollen, while -osis means
       | the part of the body is damaged.
       | 
       | I found this out back in 2012, when I had a very nasty case of
       | tendonitis in one of my feet, and I found out that the vast
       | majority of cases of tendonitis should be called tendinosis
       | instead, as it's pretty rare for the tendons themselves to swell;
       | rather, the tendons themselves deteriorate from overuse.
        
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