General Medical Terms

-ectomy

Meaning of -ectomy: A cutting out: the ending telling a reader that an operation removed something rather than merely opened or inspected it.

Definition of -ectomy

The suffix -ectomy names the surgical removal of the structure identified by the root before it. An appendectomy removes the appendix, a nephrectomy removes a kidney, a tonsillectomy removes the tonsils. The whole structure may be taken, or a named part of it, and a prefix such as hemi or a qualifier such as partial signals how much was removed.

What does the ending literally say?

That tissue was cut out and taken away. Nothing in the word states why, how the operation was reached, or what was found. A term ending this way describes only the removal, so it applies equally to a growth taken out through a long incision and to an organ removed through several small ones with a camera. Where an operation removes part of a structure rather than all of it, the term is usually qualified rather than changed, which is why partial and subtotal appear so often in front of these words. The general word for the same act is excision.

How does it differ from -otomy and -ostomy?

Three endings sit within a syllable of each other and mean three quite different things. Confusing them changes the account of an operation completely.

Ending	What is done	Example	Result
ectomy	removal	appendectomy	the appendix is taken out
otomy	cutting into	laparotomy	the abdomen is opened, then closed
ostomy	a lasting opening	colostomy	the colon is joined to the skin surface

Which terms use it most?

The ending is attached to almost every organ name in the body, which is why so many operations share it. A mastectomy removes breast tissue, a hysterectomy removes the womb, a cholecystectomy removes the gallbladder, a thyroidectomy removes the thyroid gland, and a pneumonectomy removes a whole lung. Cancer surgery uses the ending constantly, since removing the tumor with a margin of normal tissue around it is the aim of the operation, an approach often described as a resection.

Terms built on -ectomy

90 entries in this glossary use this word part. Each one follows the same pattern.

adrenalectomy Removal of one or both of the small glands capping the kidneys, whose hormones are potent…
appendectomy Removal of the appendix, among the commonest emergency abdominal operations, now usually…
bilateral nephrectomy Surgery to remove both kidneys.
bilateral prophylactic mastectomy Surgery to remove both breasts in order to reduce the risk of developing breast cancer.
bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy Surgery to remove both ovaries and both fallopian tubes.
cervicectomy Surgery to remove the cervix (the end of the uterus that forms a canal between the uterus…
colectomy A colectomy is a surgical procedure that removes all or part of the colon to treat…
complete hysterectomy Surgery to remove the entire uterus, including the cervix.
complete metastasectomy Surgery to remove all metastases (tumors formed from cells that have spread from the…
cordectomy An operation on the vocal cords or on the spinal cord.
cystectomy Depending on the organ involved, a cystectomy may mean either removing the entire urinary…
cystoprostatectomy Removing the bladder means inventing a replacement for it, and that reconstruction shapes…
cystourethrectomy Surgery to remove the bladder (the organ that holds urine) and urethra (the tube through…
distal pancreatectomy Removal of the body and tail of the pancreas.
esophagectomy Esophagectomy removes part or all of the esophagus, most often to treat esophageal cancer…
extrapleural pneumonectomy Surgery to remove a diseased lung, part of the pericardium (membrane covering the heart),…
gastrectomy Gastrectomy removes all or part of the stomach, most often to treat stomach cancer or…
glossectomy Glossectomy removes part or all of the tongue, most often to treat cancer arising from…
Halsted radical mastectomy Surgery for breast cancer in which the breast, chest muscles, and all of the lymph nodes…
hemilaryngectomy An operation to remove one side of the larynx (voicebox).
hepatectomy Hepatectomy removes part or all of the liver, often performed to treat tumors, donate a…
hysterectomy Removing the uterus ends the possibility of pregnancy, but on its own it does not bring…
inguinal orchiectomy An operation in which the testicle is removed through an incision in the groin.
laparoscopic prostatectomy Surgery to remove all or part of the prostate with the aid of a laparoscope.
laparoscopic-assisted colectomy Surgery done with the aid of a laparoscope to remove all or part of the colon through…
laryngectomy A laryngectomy is a surgical procedure that removes all or part of the larynx, most often…
lobectomy A lobectomy removes one entire lobe of an organ, most often the lung, sparing the rest of…
lumpectomy A lumpectomy removes a breast tumor along with a margin of surrounding normal tissue…
lymphadenectomy Taking out lymph nodes to learn whether cancer has reached them, an operation now used…
mastectomy Removing more tissue does not by itself buy more survival, which is why breast-conserving…
metastasectomy Surgery to remove one or more metastases (tumors formed from cells that have spread from…
modified radical mastectomy Removal of the whole breast together with the armpit lymph nodes, sparing the chest…
modified radical vulvectomy Surgery to remove most, but not all, of the vulva (the external female genital organs,…
nephrectomy A nephrectomy is surgery to remove all or part of a kidney, performed through several…
nephroureterectomy Surgery to remove a kidney and its ureter.
omentectomy Omentectomy removes the omentum, a fatty membrane that drapes over the abdominal organs,…
oophorectomy Oophorectomy is the surgical removal of one or both ovaries, performed for conditions…
open colectomy An operation to remove all or part of the colon through a long incision made in the wall…
open prostatectomy An operation to remove part or all of the prostate gland through an incision in the lower…
orchidectomy Surgery to remove one or both testicles.
orchiectomy Surgery to remove one or both testicles.
pancreatectomy Removing part or all of a gland that quietly does two unrelated jobs, so what is taken…
parathyroidectomy An operation aimed at a gland most people cannot name, usually done because one of the…
parotidectomy Removal of the large salivary gland in front of the ear, an operation planned around the…
partial cystectomy Surgery to remove part of the bladder (the organ that holds urine).
partial hysterectomy Surgery to remove the uterus, but not the cervix.
partial laryngectomy An operation to remove part of the larynx (voice box).
partial mastectomy The removal of cancer as well as some of the breast tissue around the tumor and the…
partial nephrectomy Kidney tissue does not grow back, and keeping more of it lowers the chance of kidney…
partial oophorectomy Surgery to remove part of one ovary or part of both ovaries.
partial radical vulvectomy Surgery to remove most, but not all, of the vulva (the external female genital organs,…
partial vulvectomy Surgery to remove an affected area of the vulva (the external female genital organs,…
pelvic lymphadenectomy Surgery to remove lymph nodes in the pelvis for examination under a microscope to see if…
penectomy A penectomy is a surgical procedure removing part or all of the penis, most often…
perineal prostatectomy Surgery to remove the prostate through an incision made between the scrotum and the anus.
pleurectomy Stripping out a lining so the lung sticks to the chest wall, which is the aim: a space…
pneumonectomy Taking a whole lung leaves a space the body must fill, and that space is what separates…
polypectomy A polypectomy removes a polyp, most often during an endoscopic procedure such as a…
preventive mastectomy Surgery to reduce the risk of developing breast cancer by removing one or both breasts…
prophylactic mastectomy Breast removal chosen before any cancer exists, lowering risk sharply while never quite…
prophylactic oophorectomy Surgery intended to reduce the risk of ovarian cancer by removing the ovaries before…
prostatectomy Prostatectomy ranges from removing a small portion of prostate tissue to complete gland…
prostatocystectomy Surgery to remove the bladder (the organ that holds urine) and the prostate.
quadrantectomy Surgical removal of the region of the breast (approximately one quarter) containing…
radical cystectomy An operation that removes the bladder entirely, along with neighboring organs, and…
radical hysterectomy Surgery to remove the uterus, cervix, and part of the vagina.
radical mastectomy Surgery for breast cancer in which the breast, chest muscles, and all of the lymph nodes…
radical nephrectomy Taking the whole kidney out inside its fatty envelope, an operation now kept for tumors…
radical perineal prostatectomy Surgery to remove all of the prostate through an incision between the scrotum and the…
radical prostatectomy Removal of the whole prostate rather than part of it, performed to cure cancer that still…
radical retropubic prostatectomy Surgery to remove all of the prostate and nearby lymph nodes through an incision in the…
radical vulvectomy Surgery to remove the entire vulva (the external female genital organs, including the…
retropubic prostatectomy Surgery to remove the prostate through an incision made in the wall of the abdomen.
salpingo-oophorectomy Surgical removal of the fallopian tubes and ovaries.
segmental cystectomy Surgery to remove part of the bladder (the organ that holds urine).
segmental mastectomy The removal of cancer as well as some of the breast tissue around the tumor and the…
segmentectomy Removal of one anatomical unit of an organ along its own blood supply, so the cut runs…
simple mastectomy Removal of the breast.
simple nephrectomy Surgery to remove one kidney.
simple vulvectomy Surgery to remove the entire vulva (the external female genital organs, including the…
skinning vulvectomy Surgery to remove the top layer of skin of the vulva (the external female genital organs,…
sleeve lobectomy Surgery to remove a lung tumor in a lobe of the lung and a part of the main bronchus…
splenectomy A splenectomy is a surgical procedure that removes all or part of the spleen, performed…
thrombectomy Surgery to remove a thrombus (blood clot) from a blood vessel.
thyroidectomy Thyroidectomy removes part or all of the thyroid gland to treat conditions such as…
total hysterectomy The commonest misunderstanding in gynecology: total means the cervix as well, not the…
total laryngectomy An operation to remove all of the larynx (voice box).
total mastectomy Removal of the breast.
total pancreatectomy Surgery to remove the entire pancreas.
trachelectomy Surgery to remove the cervix (the end of the uterus that forms a canal between the uterus…

Also known as

ectomy

“

Used in a sentence

The suffix -ectomy in the operation note indicated that the organ had been removed rather than opened.

Good to know

The ending states that tissue was removed and carries no information about the approach, so an operation named this way may have been performed through a long incision or through several small camera ports.

Word origin

Where “-ectomy” comes from

From the Greek ek, meaning out, and tome, a cutting, from temnein, to cut; the whole ending therefore reads as a cutting out.