urethr-

1. variant of urethro- before a vowel:

   urethrectomy.

Example Sentences

At length the corpus cavernosum urethr became soft, and in another day or two the whole subsided.

From Project Gutenberg

Words That Use Urethr-

What does urethr- mean?

Urethr- is a combining form used like a prefix representing the word urethra, the tube that carries the urine from the bladder outside the body. In male organisms, the urethra also conveys sperm. Urethr- is used in many medical terms.

Urethr- comes from the Greek ourḗthra, from the verb oureîn, “to urinate.” This verb is also the source of the English ureter, a tube in the body that carries urine from the kidneys to the bladder; combining forms representing ureter are uretero- and ureter-. Also ultimately deriving from the same root as urethra and ureter are the combining forms uro- and ur-, meaning “urine.”

Urethr- is a variant of urethro-, which loses its -o– when combined with words or word elements beginning with vowels.

Want to know more? Read our Words That Use urethro- article.

Examples of urethr-

One medical term that features the combining form urethr- is urtherectomy, “excision or removal of part or all of the urethra.”

As we have seen, the urethr- part of the word means “urethra.” The second part of the word, -ectomy, means “excision, removal.” Urtherectomy literally translates to “urethra removal.”

What are some words that use the combining form urethr-?

• urethralgia
• urethratresia
• urethremphraxis
• urethritis (using the equivalent form of urethr- in New Latin)
• urethrism
• urethrodynia

What are some other forms that urethr- may be commonly confused with?

• erythro-
• utero-

Break it down!

The combining form -algia means “pain.” What does the condition of urethralgia involve?