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Affixes

nephr(o)-

A kidney or the kidneys.

Greek nephros, kidney.

Nephritis is inflammation of the kidneys; something nephrotoxic is damaging or destructive to them; nephrectomy (Greek ektomē, excision) is surgical removal of one or both of them; nephrology is the branch of medicine that deals with their physiology and diseases; the adjective relating to the kidneys is nephritic. Nephrite is a form of jade, so named because it was once thought to cure kidney disease.

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