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What is the treatment of an ectopic pregnancy called?

Started by Geremia, October 04, 2023, 05:15:45 PM

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Geremia

I asked the Medical Science StackExchange question "What is the treatment of an ectopic pregnancy called?" and it was promptly closed:

Screen Shot 2023-10-04 at 16.42.13.png

Maybe someone here can answer my question.

Sapingotomy / salpingectomy are specific to tubal pregnancies, but there are other types of extra-uterine (ectopic) pregnancies, as Bouscaren, S.J. notes, so it would seem there is a more general term.

Another strange thing is that Medical Sciences StackExchange's bot flags posts with links to isidore.co (inter alia). Most StackExchange sites don't do this.

Geremia

#1
Question:
QuoteWhat is the treatment of an ectopic pregnancy called?
Note: I'm interested in the generic term covering all types of ectopic (extra-uterine) pregnancies, not just those that occur in the Fallopian tube.
Answer:
QuoteThe generic term is "embryectomy".
"-ectomy" means "to cut out" or "excise" (cf. "-otomy", which means "to cut up into pieces"):
Quoteἐκ (ek, "out") + τέμνω (témnō, "to cut")
If it is a tubal ectopic pregnancy, a salpingectomy is done:
QuoteFrom salping- ("of or relating to the salpinx [Fallopian tube]") +‎ -ectomy ("surgical removal")
which involves a simultaneous embryectomy.

Cf. the etymology of "ectopic":
Quoteἐκ (ek, "out") + -topic τόπος (tópos, "place")

Geremia

Here's the current state of my new, edited question:
QuoteThe generic term for the treatment of an ectopic pregnancy seems to be "embryectomy":
Quoteἐκ (ek, "out") + τέμνω (témnō, "to cut")
Stedman, Practical Medical Dictionary (1916), p. 302 calls embryectomy
QuoteThe operative removal of the product of conception, especially in ectopic pregnancy.
However, I do not see this term used in recent medical literature. A Google Ngram search reveals:
embryectomy Ngram
"Salpingectomy" is much more common (embryectomy, salpingectomy Ngram):
enter image description here
Is embryectomy still the proper medical term for the treatment of any type of ectopic pregnancy, or is a different term used?
Note: I'm interested in the generic term covering all types of ectopic (extra-uterine) pregnancies, not just those that occur in the Fallopian tube.

If it is a tubal ectopic pregnancy, a salpingectomy is done, and this term is in current use in more modern medical books:
QuoteFrom salping- ("of or relating to the salpinx [Fallopian tube]") +‎ -ectomy ("surgical removal")
which involves a simultaneous embryectomy.

Cf. the etymology of "ectopic":
Quoteἐκ (ek, "out") + -topic τόπος (tópos, "place")

tacf

Salpingectomy, salpingotomy, oophorectomy, etc are different surgeries used as treatment for an ectopic pregnancy. Medical texts just generically say something like "medical versus surgical management of an ectopic" to imply methotrexate versus any of the above surgeries.
I didn't hear a generic term other than that during medical school. I'm not OBGyn though.