Omentectomy

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A surgical technique that involves the excision of the omentum, a peritoneal fold that provides support to abdominal organs for medical reasons
2. A medical intervention that entails the surgical removal of a fold of tissue in the abdominal cavity that plays a role in supporting internal organs is carried out for health-related reasons
3. The procedure of cutting out the omentum, the fatty layer in the abdomen, to treat certain medical conditions

Etymology: "Omentectomy" is a modern medical coinage built from two parts. The first, "omento-", comes from "omentum," the Latin word for the fatty membrane that hangs like an apron from the stomach and over the intestines. The second, "-ectomy," comes from Greek "ektomē," meaning "a cutting out," and is the standard suffix for surgical removal of a body part, as in "appendectomy" or "mastectomy." Put together, the term simply describes cutting out the omentum. Because the suffix is so productive, surgeons could form the word straight from the anatomical name, so it needs no separate story of its own. Its meaning is literal and transparent: the procedure is named for exactly what it removes.