crani(o)-
The cranium.
[Greek kranion, skull.]
In medicine, cranioscopy is the observation and examination of the skull; craniectomy (Greek ektomē, excision) is surgical removal of a portion of it; craniotomy (Greek -tomia, cutting) is any surgical incision into it, say to reduce pressure; and cranioplasty is plastic surgery carried out on it. The usual adjective is cranial.
Visit Michael Quinion’s World Wide Words site for 2000+ articles on English!
Copyright © Michael Quinion 2008–. All rights reserved. Page last updated 23 September 2008.
Your comments and suggestions on the site are very welcome.