A surgical procedure involving cutting into the liver tissue, often to remove a tumor, abscess, or damaged portion, or to access internal structures.
From hepatic- (liver) + -tomy (cutting or incision, from Greek tome meaning cut). This general surgical term has been in use since the early days of liver surgery in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The suffix -tomy specifically means a surgical cut, so hepaticotomy is the cutting operation itself—different from -stomy which means creating an opening or connection, showing how medical language precisely distinguishes between different surgical approaches.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.