A surgical procedure that creates an opening into a joint, usually for drainage, inspection, or therapeutic purposes.
From Greek 'arthron' (joint) + '-stomy' (suffix meaning to create an opening or mouth). Medical '-stomy' procedures are named after the Greek 'stoma', creating terms like colostomy and tracheostomy.
Every '-stomy' surgery creates a permanent or semi-permanent opening—arthrostomy lets doctors drain infected fluid from joints or create access for continuous treatment, which is why you see the '-stomy' suffix in life-changing procedures throughout medicine.
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