Therapeutic or Preventive Procedure
nephrectomy Audio
ne·phrec·to·my [ nuh-frek-tuh-mee ]
Subclass of:
Urologic Surgical Procedures
Etymology:
Greek nephros = kidney + ektome = excision
Definitions related to nephrectomy:
  • A surgical procedure to completely or partially remove a kidney. With a complete nephrectomy, the attached adrenal gland, perinephric fat, and regional lymph nodes are often removed as well. With a partial nephrectomy, the removed tissue contains the tumor and a rim of normal renal parenchyma only.
    NCI Thesaurus
    U.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
  • Surgery to remove a kidney or part of a kidney. In a partial nephrectomy, part of one kidney or a tumor is removed, but not an entire kidney. In a simple nephrectomy, one kidney is removed. In a radical nephrectomy, an entire kidney, nearby adrenal gland and lymph nodes, and other surrounding tissue are removed. In a bilateral nephrectomy, both kidneys are removed.
    NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms
    U.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
  • Surgical removal of a kidney.
    CRISP Thesaurus
    National Institutes of Health, 2006
  • Nephrectomy (nuh-FREK-tuh-me) is a surgical procedure to remove all or part of a kidney:
    Mayo Clinic
    Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
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This content should not be used in place of medically-reviewed decision support reference material or professional medical advice. Some terms may have alternate or updated definitions not reflected in this set. The definitions on this page should not be considered complete or up to date.