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Affixes: the building blocks of English
Affixes: the building blocks of English
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omphal(o)-

The navel; the umbilical cord.

[Greek omphalos, navel.]

Omphalitis is inflammation of the naval, especially in newborn infants; an omphalocele is a hernia in which abdominal organs protrude into a baby's umbilical cord; the adjective omphalomesenteric (sometimes hyphenated) refers to the navel and the mesentery, a fold of the peritoneum which attaches the stomach and other organs to the wall of the abdomen. The Greek word omphalos is also a poetic or literary term for the centre or hub of something.

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