Which term means surgical removal of the kidney?

• A. Nephrectomy
• B. Nephroplasty
• C. Nephritis
• D. Nephrology

Answer: (A)

Recognizing how medical terms are built helps you identify procedures. Nephro- means kidney, and -ectomy is a suffix that means surgical removal. Put together, nephrectomy refers to the surgical removal of the kidney.

If you see a term with -plasty, it’s about repair or reshaping (nephroplasty is surgical reconstruction of the kidney). -itis signals inflammation (nephritis). -logy denotes the study of a field (nephrology is the medical specialty focused on kidneys).