List of surgical procedures

Surgical procedures have long and possibly daunting names. Many have been mentioned on such medical drama shows as ER, or the TLC Network show, Trauma: Life in the ER. The meaning of many surgical procedure names can often be understood if the name is broken into parts. For example in splenectomy, "ectomy" is a suffix meaning the removal of a part of the body. "Splene-" means spleen. Thus, splenectomy refers to the surgical removal of the spleen (or sections thereof). "otomy" means to cut into a part of the body; a splenotomy would be to cut into, but not necessarily remove, the spleen.

Related Topics:
ER - TLC Network - Splenectomy - Suffix - Spleen

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The field of minimally invasive surgery has spawned another set of words, such as arthroscopic or laparoscopic surgery. These take the same form as above; an arthroscope is a device which allows the inside of the joint to be seen.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~