Plural of enterostomy; surgical procedures creating artificial openings in the small intestine to bypass damaged sections or allow waste to exit the body.
From Greek 'enteron' (intestine) + 'stoma' (mouth, opening) + '-ies' (plural suffix). These surgical procedures became more common in the 20th century as techniques improved.
The suffix '-stomy' meaning 'to create an opening' is found in dozens of surgical procedures (colostomy, tracheostomy, gastrostomy), and it represents how doctors literally carve new pathways in the body when disease closes natural ones.
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