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The combining form -tomy used like a suffix has several meanings. In medical terms, it refers to “cutting,” usually in reference to the surgical incision into an organ but sometimes as part of the removal of an object from the body.

The combining form -tomy is also occasionally used to form abstract nouns in reference to some type of “division,” as in dichotomy, “division into two parts.”

The combining form -tomy comes from the Greek -tomia, meaning “cutting,” which is based on the verb ��é���Ա𾱲�, “to cut.”

Related to -tomy are the combining forms -tome, -tomous, and tomo-. Also related to -tomy is -ectomy, which literally means “cutting out of” and specifically refers to the excision or removal of organs, as in a tonsillectomy.

Learn more about -ectomy in our �������t¶��s That Use article for the form.

Also related to ��ó���Dz� is atom. What’s the big idea behind atoms and cutting? Find out in our Origin section for this term.

An example of a word you may have encountered that features -tomy ������craniotomy, “the operation of opening the skull, usually for operations on the brain.”

The combining form cranio- may also look familiar: it represents the cranium, also known as “skull.” The form -tomy means “incision,” as we’ve seen. So, craniotomy literally translates to “skull incision.”

What are some words that use the combining form -tomy?

• arthrotomy
• adenotomy
• autotomy
• blepharotomy
• canthotomy
• cardiotomy
• colotomy
• colpotomy
• cystotomy
• duodenotomy
• enterotomy
• fasciotomy
• gastroenterotomy
• gastrotomy
• hysterotomy
• ileotomy
• jejunotomy
• leukotomy
• lobotomy
• myotomy
• necrotomy
• osteotomy
• pleurotomy
• salpingotomy
• tracheotomy
• tendotomy
• ventriculotomy
• xylotomy

What are some other forms that -tomy may be commonly confused with?

• -stome
• -stomy
• -stomous
• tono-

The combining form entero- means “intestine,” a major organ in the digestive system. What does the surgical procedure of an enterotomy involve?