fistula
pronunciation
How to pronounce fistula in British English:
UK [ˈfɪstjʊlə]
How to pronounce fistula in American English:
US [ˈfɪstʃələ]
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- Noun:
- a chronic inflammation of the withers of a horse
- an abnormal passage leading from a suppurating cavity to the body surface
Word Origin
- fistula (n.)
- "long, narrow ulcer," late 14c., from Latin fistula "a pipe; ulcer," which is of uncertain origin. Related: Fistular; fistulous (Latin fistulosus "full of holes; tubular"). No certain etymology. The best comparison seems to be with festuca "stalk, straw" and maybe ferula "giant fennel" (if from *fesula): the forms of a "pipe" and a "stalk" are similar. The vacillation between fest- and fist- occurs within festuca itself, and might be dialectal, or allophonic within Latin. [de Vaan]
Example
- 1. Tissue between her vagina and rectum was ripped , and she developed a fistula .
- 2. That 's typically how an obstetric fistula arises : a teenage girl , often malnourished and with an immature pelvis , tries to deliver her first baby .
- 3. Most fistula surgery is performed through the vagina , and can take anywhere from 30 minutes to several hours .
- 4. The injured tissue dies , leaving a fistula : a hole that lets urine stream out constantly through the vagina .
- 5. Her son survived for only an hour , and she developed a fistula , as well as nerve damage in one leg that left her with an awkward gait .