The building blocks of English

Affixes

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.