Hepatopexy

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A surgical procedure in which the liver is anchored in its proper position by attaching it to the abdominal wall
2. An operation that secures a displaced or floating liver back into place through stitching or fixation to nearby tissue
3. Surgery to stabilize the liver by fastening it to surrounding structures so it stays in its normal location

Etymology: Hepatopexy is a surgical term for fixing a displaced or wandering liver in place, and its parts are both Greek. "Hepato-" comes from the Greek "hēpar," meaning liver, while "-pexy" comes from the Greek "pēxis," meaning fixation or fastening. The suffix "-pexy" shows up in other surgical coinages, such as "nephropexy" for fixing a kidney and "rhachiopexy" for fixing the spine, all built on the same pattern of an organ name plus "-pexy." The word is a modern technical formation, built by combining the two Greek elements rather than inherited from ancient medical writing. Ancient physicians certainly knew the liver and its diseases, but they did not have a word for surgically fastening it, since that operation belongs to a much later period of surgical practice.