endarterectomy

[ en-dahr-tuh-rek-tuh-mee ]

noun

, plural end·ar·ter·ec·to·mies.

1. the surgical stripping of a fat-encrusted, thickened arterial lining so as to open or widen the artery for improved blood circulation.

Word History and Origins

Origin of endarterectomy¹

First recorded in 1955–60; endarter(ium) + -ectomy