-coele

The combining form -coele is used like a suffix meaning “cavity.” It is occasionally used in medical terms, especially in pathology.

The form -coele comes from Greek koîlos, meaning “hollow.” The Latin equivalent is cavus, also meaning “hollow,” which is the source of words such as cavity and concave. To learn more, check out our entries for both words.

What are variants of -coele?

In some cases, the form -coele drops the –o– to become -cele, as in pseudocele. In other variant spellings, -coele is spelled without the final –e, becoming -coel. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use articles on -cele and -coel.

One example of a medical term that uses the form -coele is neurocoele, “the system of cavities of the embryonic brain and spinal cord.”

The neuro- part of the word may look familiar. It means “nervous system,” from Greek neûron. The -coele part of the word means “cavity,” as we have seen. Neurocoele literally translates to “nervous system cavity.”

What are some words that use the combining form -coele?

• blastocoele
• enterocoele
• rhabdocoele

What are some other forms that -coele may be commonly confused with?

• -cle
• -colous
• -cule

The combining form entero- means “intestine.” With this in mind, what does enterocoele mean?