fistula
/ˈfɪs.tjə.lə/ noun
Forms fistulas fistulae fistulæ fistule
- noun (medicine) An abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels that normally do not connect. “communicating fistula”
- noun (rare) A tube, a pipe, or a hole.
- noun (Christianity, historical) The tube through which the wine of the Eucharist was once sucked from the chalice in certain ceremonies (such as papal Masses).
Synonyms
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Latin fistula (“pipe, ulcer, catheter”). Doublet of fester.
Webster’s 1913
Etymology [L.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “fistula”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details