Nephropexies

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Surgical procedures that anchor a displaced or floating kidney to surrounding tissue so it stays in its proper position
2. Operations performed to secure a kidney in place by stitching or attaching it to nearby structures within the abdomen
3. Medical repairs that fix a wandering kidney firmly to the body wall to prevent it from shifting out of place

Etymology: Nephropexy is a surgical term built from Greek roots: "nephros" meaning kidney, and "pexis" meaning fixing or fastening, from "pegnynai," to fasten. The "-y" ending marks a procedure, so the word names an operation in which a displaced or floating kidney is stitched or anchored in place, usually to the abdominal wall or surrounding tissue. The plural "nephropexies" simply refers to more than one such operation. Because the word is a modern medical coinage assembled from classical building blocks, it was not used by ancient Greek physicians, even though its parts come from their language. Doctors in more recent centuries combined the old roots to name specific procedures as surgery on the kidney developed, following the same pattern used for related terms such as "orchidopexy" for fixing a testicle.