colpo-

Colpo- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “vagina.” It is often used in medical terms, especially in anatomy and pathology.

Colpo- comes from the Greek kolpos, meaning “womb.”

Another ancient Greek word for womb, ������é����, is the root of the word hysteria. Learn what hysterical has to do with wombs—and why using it may be offensive—in our slideshow, “These Common Words Have Offensive Histories.”

������ are variants of colpo-?

When combined with words or word elements that begin with a vowel, colpo- becomes colp-, as in colpitis.

One example of a medical term that features the combining form colpo- is colpotomy, meaning “incision of the vagina.”

As we have seen, colpo- means “vagina.” The second part of the word, -tomy, means “cutting, incision.” Putting it all back together, colpotomy literally translates to “vagina incision.”

������ are some words that use the combining form colpo- or its variant colp-?

• colpalgia
• colpectomy
• colpocele
• colpocystitis
• colpohyperplasia
• colpomicroscopy
• colpopexy
• colpoplasty
• colpospasm

������ are some other forms that colpo- may be commonly confused with?

• carpo-
• coel-
• collo-

The combining form -odynia means “pain.” With that in mind, what does the medical condition of colpodynia involve?