# thoracotomy

> English word · Noun · frequency rank #89,991

## Definitions
1. The surgical procedure of making an incision into the chest, normally as a first step to gain access to the thoracic organs, such as the heart, the lungs, and the esophagus.

## Etymology
From thoraco- + -tomy.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/thoracotomy