Coloenteritis

/ˌkoʊloʊˌɛntəˈraɪtɪs/ noun

Definition

Medical inflammation of both the colon and the small intestine (enteritis), resulting in symptoms affecting the entire lower digestive tract.

Etymology

From 'colo-' (colon) + 'enter-' (intestine, from Greek 'enteron') + '-itis' (inflammation). This compound term describes simultaneous inflammation across multiple intestinal regions.

Kelly Says

The 'enter-' root means intestine and appears in tons of modern medical terms—entrepreneur (literally 'one who undertakes between') originally referred to merchants, showing how Greek medical vocabulary sometimes migrates into everyday language.

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