Splenectomy
/ˌsplɪˈnɛk.tə.mi/noun
Surgical removal of the spleen.
Did you know?The surgical suffix -ectomy comes from Greek ektemnein, meaning “to cut out,” so medicine literally inherited a language of extraction and removal.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
splḗn (σπλήν)
“spleen”
Ancient Greek
Greek
ektomḗ (ἐκτομή)
“a cutting out, excision”
Late Latin / Medical Latin
Latin
splenectomia
“surgical removal of the spleen”
19th Century
English
splenectomy
“the surgical removal of the spleen”
Modern English
English
splenectomy
“surgical removal of the spleen”
Explore more surprising origins