Medical examination.
Greek optos, seen.
The earliest example was autopsy (Greek, autoptēs, eyewitness, from autos, self), a post-mortem examination. On its model have been derived necropsy (Greek nekros, corpse), another term for an autopsy, and biopsy, an examination of tissue removed from a living body to discover the presence, cause, or extent of a disease.
Copyright © Michael Quinion 2008–. All rights reserved. Your comments are very welcome.