lithotripsy

noun

lith·​o·​trip·​sy ˈli-thə-ˌtrip-sē 

plural lithotripsies

: the breaking (as by shock waves or crushing with a surgical instrument) of a calculus in the urinary system into pieces small enough to be voided or washed out

Examples of lithotripsy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Jerry worked at a variety of different places that included teaching at Abbott Northwestern Hospital, head of the x-ray department at St Francis Hospital & a lithotripsy technologist at Midwest Stone. —Contributed Content, Twin Cities, 6 Feb. 2025

Shock wave lithotripsy: This treatment uses shock waves to blast gallstones into small pieces. —Anna Giorgi, Verywell Health, 12 July 2024

One of the most recent medical breakthroughs, intravascular lithotripsy (IVL), is revolutionizing how heart doctors open hardened arteries lined with calcium. —Ethan Stone, USA TODAY, 20 June 2024

Treatment of kidney stones includes: Noninvasive extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy: This involves the use of sound waves to crush kidney stones. —Anna Giorgi, Verywell Health, 12 July 2024

Lee and Kaki share their perspectives on innovative therapies, including intravascular lithotripsy, that are positively impacting cardiovascular care. —Ethan Stone, USA TODAY, 20 June 2024

The founders based the technology on lithotripsy to remove kidney stones, a therapy that has been in use since the 1980s. —Lizzy Lawrence, STAT, 5 Apr. 2024

The new addition brings Shockwave’s technology, called intravascular lithotripsy, which uses sound waves to break up calcification in heart vessels and the peripheral circulation. —Bloomberg, The Mercury News, 5 Apr. 2024

Researchers studied the effects of gentler shockwaves on human tissue for decades to come, and by the 1980s, physicians were using something called extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) to pulverize patients’ kidney stones. —Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 30 Aug. 2023

Word History

Etymology

litho- + Greek trîpsis "rubbing, friction" (from trī́bein "to rub, grind, wear down" + -sis -sis) + -y entry 2 — more at throw entry 1

Note: The word lithotripsy was introduced by the French physician Charles Louis Stanislas Heurteloup (1793-1864) as a replacement for the earlier term lithotrity. The change is noted in an article "On the new method of destroying vesical calculi, by means of percussion … from a memoir by Baron Heurteloup," forwarded to the journal The Lancet (1831-32, v. 2 [May 26, 1832], pp. 234-38) by D. O. Edwards of Westminster Hospital, who wrote an introduction, may have had a role in translating the text from French. According to Heurteloup, "The modifications which have been admitted in this operation make the original name [lithotrity] no longer applicable, for its derivation from λιθος, and τετράω [tetráō, erroneously for tetraínō "bore through, perforate"], or τερέω [a form of the same verb], imply that its action is to bore, not to break. The term lithotripsy, from λίθος and τριβω, τριψις, will, I think, be acknowledged as more appropriate to the nature of the operation." A year later Heurteloup published a description of the operation in French (Lithotripsie. Mémoires sur la lithotripsie par percussion, Paris, 1833).

First Known Use

1834, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for lithotripsy

• tipsy

Medical Definition

lithotripsy

noun

lith·​o·​trip·​sy ˈlith-ə-ˌtrip-sē 

plural lithotripsies

: the breaking of a calculus (as by shock waves or crushing with a surgical instrument) in the urinary system into pieces small enough to be voided or washed out

called also litholapaxy, lithotrity