Nephrectomy
/nɛˈfrɛk.tə.mi/noun
Surgical removal of all or part of a kidney.
Did you know?The root nephr- comes from Greek nephros, and it survives in modern medical language everywhere from nephrology to nephritis, proving how one ancient body-word still controls a whole field of medicine.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
nephrós
“kidney”
Ancient Greek
Greek
-tomía
“cutting, incision”
Late Greek / Medical Latin
Greek/Latin
nephrektomía
“surgical removal of a kidney”
19th Century
English
nephrectomy
“operative removal of a kidney”
Modern English
English
nephrectomy
“surgical removal of all or part of a kidney”