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What’s the difference between an -ectomy, an -ostomy, and an -otomy? (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. Turning to Taber’s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary, which for an old deve like me is a constant garden of delight, we learn the following: - An “-ectomy” is the cutting out of something, as in “tonsillectomy.” In other words, hacking it off.
You might want to read an engrossing volume entitled Great and Desperate Cures: The Rise and Decline of Psychosurgery and Other Radical Treatments for Mental Illness, by Elliott Valenstein (1986). It remains to be seen how these cases hold up, but so far they have shown considerable relief of their symptoms, and only some of the minor behavior difficulties that follow lobotomy. To remedy this problem, the ice pick was later replaced with a sturdier instrument and an ordinary carpenter’s hammer was used to drive it into the brain.
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