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
A fistula is an internal hole and can be the result of childbirth.
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
In a quarter of cases, the prolonged labor will also cause fistula of the rectum, so that the girl constantly leaks both urine and feces.
From New York Times ● Jul. 18, 2022
His health continued poor, and a fistula in the eye, from which he had suffered from early childhood, and to cure which he had undergone a number of painful operations, continued to trouble him.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 3 "Helmont, Jean" to "Hernosand" by Various
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
Perianal fistulae, abnormal connections between the anal canal and perianal skin, are a common complication of Crohn's disease that often result in painful abscesses and impact patients' quality of life.
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
Not less than fifty chapters are devoted to a comparatively full discussion of wounds, fractures and dislocations, lithotomy, herniotomy, fistulae and the various diseases on the border line between medicine and surgery.
From Gilbertus Anglicus Medicine of the Thirteenth Century by Henry Ebenezer Handerson
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
Some develop fistulas, or tears that allow urine or feces to leak.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 28, 2022
In either of these locations ulcers of the skin, or simple abscesses, if not properly and punctually treated, may become fistulas.
From Special Report on Diseases of the Horse by Charles B. Michener
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