If a medical term ends with -ectomy, what does it indicate?

• A. Surgical removal
• B. Surgical puncture
• C. Break down
• D. Suture

Answer: (A)

The ending -ectomy signals a surgical removal of a part or organ. This tells you that the procedure involves taking out tissue, not just opening, puncturing, breaking down, or stitching. For example, appendectomy means removal of the appendix, and tonsillectomy means removal of the tonsils. Other suffixes convey different actions: -centesis indicates puncture to withdraw fluid, -lysis means breaking down or destruction of tissue, and suffixes for suturing point to stitching rather than removal. So the best interpretation for a term ending in -ectomy is surgical removal.