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fistula

American  
[fis-choo-luh] / ˈfɪs tʃʊ lə /

noun

  • fistulas,
    plural
  • fistulae
    plural
  1. 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.

  2. Surgery. an opening made into a hollow organ, as the bladder or eyeball, for drainage.

  3. 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.

  4. Obsolete. a pipe, as a flute.


fistula British  
/ ˈfɪstjʊlə /

noun

  1. 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

  2. obsolete any musical wind instrument; a pipe

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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:

"Our discovery of unique fistula fibroblasts, distinct monocyte differentiation in African-ancestry individuals, and key transcription factor binding events helps us illuminate mechanistic underpinnings of perianal fistula -- critical for the optimization of future treatment."

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

The next year, he underwent two surgeries after he developed a fistula, which his doctor described to the Richmond Times-Dispatch as “an abnormal connection between the bladder and colon.”

From Washington Post Nov. 28, 2022

The small wound leads into a 220 faecal fistula, and a bent probe passed along it would probably find its way into the bowel.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 3 "Apollodorus" to "Aral" 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

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

Congenital esophagotracheal and esophagobronchial fistulae are occasionally seen, and cases of cervicotracheal fistulae have been reported.

From Bronchoscopy and Esophagoscopy A Manual of Peroral Endoscopy and Laryngeal Surgery by Chevalier Jackson

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

James Marion Sims, a 19th century Alabama surgeon heralded as the father of modern gynecology, pioneered a treatment for vesicovaginal fistulas, a condition that affects bladder control and fertility in women.

From Seattle Times May 22, 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

These are inserted into the fistulas, and the false mucous coat of these passages thus destroyed.

From Diseases of the Horse's Foot by Harry Caulton Reeks

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