STRAIGHT DOPE CLASSIC - 12/19/1986
"Dear Cecil,
In medicine, what's the difference between an '-ectomy,' an'-ostomy,' and an '-otomy'? My wife believes they mean 'hack it off,' 'bite it off,' and 'pinch it till it drops off.' --J.W., Chicago
Cecil replies:
Very funny, J.W., and actually, not all that far off the mark. According to my Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary, which for an old develike me is a constant garden of delights, an '-ectomy' is the cutting out of something, as in "tonsillectomy." In other words, hacking it off. This may be what accounts for the lingering squeamishness about another well-known operation, the vasectomy. (In reality, of course, only a tiny portion of the vas deferens is removed.)
[Editor's note: I've actually always wondered for men if knowing that it is really just the vas deferens really makes such a vast difference!]
An '- ostomy' (actually, '-stomy') means you cut a hole in it, or more precisely, furnish it with a mouth or outlet, as in"colostomy," wherein an opening cut into the colon creates an artificial anus. (Seems like a waste, considering how many real ones there are already.) Finally, there's '-otomy,' (or '-tomy'), which means to slice it up, i.e., an operation in which cutting is involved. Thus we can distinguish a lobectomy, in which a lobe, typically of the brain, is removed, from a lobotomy, in which they merely jab an ice pick in there and chop things up a bit."
For more, see:http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_425.html
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