The building blocks of English

Affixes

col(o)-

The colon.

Greek kolon, the large intestine.

Colitis is inflammation of the colon; colotomy (Greek ‑tomia, cutting) is an incision into it; colectomy (Greek ektomē, excision) is the removal of all or part of it; and colostomy (Greek stoma, mouth) is a surgical procedure whereby the colon is cut and diverted to the abdominal wall. Colorectal refers to the colon and rectum as one unit.