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Affixes

pyel(o)-

The pelvis of the kidney.

Greek puelos, trough, basin.

The pelvis of the kidney, the renal pelvis, is the broadened top part of the ureter into which the kidney tubules drain. Pyelography is an X-ray technique for producing an image of the renal pelvis and urinary tract; pyelitis is inflammation of it; pyeloplasty is an operation to relieve obstruction at the junction of the kidney and the ureter; pyelolithotomy (Greek ‑tomia, cutting) is surgical removal of a stone from the kidney through an incision made in the renal pelvis; pyelonephritis is inflammation of the substance of the kidney as a result of bacterial infection.