fistula
Americannoun
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fistulas,
plural
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fistulae
plural
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Pathology. a narrow passage or duct formed by disease or injury, as one leading from an abscess to a free surface, or from one cavity to another.
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Surgery. an opening made into a hollow organ, as the bladder or eyeball, for drainage.
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Veterinary Pathology. any of various suppurative inflammations, as in the withers of a horse fistulous withers, characterized by the formation of passages or sinuses through the tissues and to the surface of the skin.
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Obsolete. a pipe, as a flute.
noun
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pathol an abnormal opening between one hollow organ and another or between a hollow organ and the surface of the skin, caused by ulceration, congenital malformation, etc
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obsolete any musical wind instrument; a pipe
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of fistula
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin: “pipe, tube,” of uncertain origin
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
A range of anti-inflammatory medications can treat Crohn's disease, but they show limited efficacy for closure of perianal fistula tracts.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 24, 2024
Grace suffered a fistula in childbirth more than four years ago.
From BBC ● Dec. 19, 2023
While rare today in developed countries, an obstetric vesicovaginal fistula was a major complication of childbirth among 19th century women in America.
From Salon ● Mar. 18, 2023
But the process requires a long recovery: fistula of the bladder takes about five weeks to heal, while a rectal fistula needs four or five months.
From New York Times ● Jul. 18, 2022
A court-apothecary, with a heart of pumice-stone,–Zeusel he writes himself,–once even regarded this melting of the warmest soul as a case of lachrymal fistula, because he thought that no eyes could weep but diseased ones....
From Hesperus or Forty-Five Dog-Post-Days Vol. I. A Biography by Jean Paul
However, patients of African ancestry are about twice as likely to have perianal fistulae, according to studies in adult and pediatric populations.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 24, 2024
The researchers profiled more than 140,000 single cells from diverse Crohn's disease patients with perianal fistulae.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 24, 2024
Over the last four decades, the ships’ surgeons have performed surgeries in 56 developing countries, operating on patients with such conditions as tumors, cataracts, burns, obstetric fistulae or bone deformities, among others.
From Fox News ● May 21, 2019
On a shelf is a lurid, plastic, life-size model of a rectum afflicted by every imaginable malady – haemorrhoids, fistulae, ulcerative colitis, faecaliths.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 31, 2013
Finally the fistulae heal, the joint becomes fixed at an angle or bent or otherwise crippled, but painfulness disappears and the patient escapes with his life and a stiff leg.
From Prof. Koch's Method to Cure Tuberculosis Popularly Treated by Fr. (Friedrich) Brendecke
She says there is a huge stigma around fistulas and stomas in the Kenyan culture.
From BBC ● Dec. 19, 2023
It causes inflammation and damage to the digestive system, leading to symptoms such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, weight loss and fatigue and complications such as strictures and fistulas.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 17, 2023
He is most famous for improving the technique to repair obstetric fistulas, which are abnormal openings between a woman's genital tract, urinary tract or rectum that cause urinary incontinence.
From Salon ● Mar. 18, 2023
The intestinal walls begin to break down where the magnets are connected and holes, called fistulas, develop, allowing bacteria inside the intestines to leak out into the abdominal cavity, which can be fatal.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 30, 2020
Although the successful treatment of fistulas requires time and patience, the majority of cases are curable.
From Special Report on Diseases of the Horse by Charles B. Michener
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