Introduction to Medical Terminology Practice Test

Creating an opening to the outside of the body is described by the suffix -ostomy. A stoma is the new opening created surgically, so an ostomy refers to that procedure. Examples include colostomy (opening of the colon to the abdomen surface), ileostomy (opening of the ileum), and urostomy (urinary opening). The other suffixes point to different concepts: -algia means pain, -pathy means disease or pathology, and -scopy means to view with a scope. So -ostomy is the best fit for describing the creation of an opening between an organ and the outside world.