exenteration
Meaning of exenteration: Exenteration is an extensive surgery that removes multiple organs from within a body cavity, most often as treatment for advanced cancer.
Definition of exenteration
Exenteration is a surgical procedure that removes multiple organs from within a body cavity as a single operation, rather than removing one organ alone. The term is most often used to describe pelvic exenteration, in which reproductive organs, the bladder, and part of the rectum may all be removed together, depending on how far a cancer has spread.
Because exenteration removes several organs at once, it is a major operation typically reserved for advanced or recurrent cancers that have not responded to less extensive treatment, when there is still a reasonable chance of removing all detectable disease. The procedure often requires additional reconstructive surgery to reroute urine or stool afterward.
Exenteration is distinct from a resection limited to a single organ, reflecting the broader scope of tissue removed.
How exenteration is built
- ex-, exo- Prefix · Greek and Latin out, outside, away from
- enter/o Combining form · Greek intestine, small intestine
- -ion, -ation Suffix · Latin process, action, or its result
A medical term is read from its ending backwards: the suffix first, then the prefix, then the root. See all 223 word parts.
Used in a sentence
Pelvic exenteration was considered given the extent of local tumor recurrence.
Good to know
Exenteration is reserved for extensive disease because of the scope of organs removed and the reconstructive surgery it typically requires, distinguishing it from more limited single-organ resections.
Word origin
Where “exenteration” comes from
Formed from ex- (Greek, meaning "out of") and enteron (Greek, meaning "intestine.")