Origin: Greek

Gr. perhaps from aer = air, and terein  = to keep. This derivation suggests the ancient belief that arteries were windpipes. Adopted into Latin as arteria with the same meaning until the time of Harvey.

Gr. arytaina  = a pitcher, and eidos  = resemblance. The arytenoid cartilages were thought to resemble little pitchers.

Gr. askos  = a bag or bladder. Applied to a fluid-filled abdomen, often seen in liver cirrhosis.

Gr. a = not, and stigma = a point. Hence a failure of the eye to focus light on the retina.

Gr. astron = a star, and kytos = a vessel or cell. Applies to star-shaped cells.

Gr. a  = not, taxis = order, ia  = condition. Applied to a lack of muscular coordination.

Gr. ateles = imperfect, and ektasis = expansion. E.g. Atelectasis of blood vessels.

Gr. athere = porridge; an unexpected derivation, but a good descriptive term. The combining form athero-, from the same stem, appears in the compound term atherosclerosis (skleros = hard).

Gr. Atlas was the mythological Titan who suppoerted the world on his shoulders. Vesalius, in the sixteenth century, gave this name to the first cervical vertebra, which supports the head.

Gr. a = not, tresis = a boring, and -ia = a condition. Refers to an abnormal closure of an opening.