A surgical incision into or through the cricoid cartilage; a general surgical operation on the cricoid.
From 'cricoid' (Greek krikos, ring) plus '-tomy' (Greek tome, cutting). This surgical term describes any operation that cuts into the ring-shaped cricoid cartilage.
While 'cricotomy' describes cutting into the cricoid, surgeons usually specify exactly where and why—like 'cricothyrotomy' (between the rings) or 'transverse cricotomy'—because precision matters when operating on something that controls your breathing.
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