# fistula
## English
### Alternative forms

* fistule

### Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin fistula (“pipe, ulcer, catheter”). Doublet of fester.

### Pronunciation

* (UK) IPA: /ˈfɪs.tjə.lə/, /ˈfɪs.tʃʊ.lə/
* (General American) IPA: /ˈfɪs.tjə.lə/, /ˈfɪs.t͡ʃu.lə/
* Audio (US):(file)

### Noun

fistula (plural fistulas or fistulae or fistulæ)
* (medicine) An abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels that normally do not connect.
** 1903, William Rice Pryor, Gynæcology, page 113:Small fistulæ are to be closed bilaterally in an antero-posterior line […]
** 1917, Louis Adolph Merillat, Fistula of the Withers and Poll-Evil, page 5:There are several reasons why a manual on this disease should be a part of the veterinary literature of the day, the chief one being that fistula of the withers is a very prevalent disease of horses and thus exacts a big toll from the horse industry.
** 1998, Scott Fisher, “Enterocutaneous Fistulas”, in Theodore J. Saclarides, Keith W. Millikan, editors, Common Surgical Diseases: An Algorithmic Approach to Problem Solving‎, page 164:Fistulas are abnormal communications between two epithelialized surfaces. The causes of enterocutaneous fistulas can be remembered using the mnemonic FRIEND: Foreign body, Radiation, Inflammation/Infection/Inflammatory bowel disease, Epithelialization, Neoplasm, and Distal obstruction. Fifteen to twenty-five percent of enterocutaneous fistulas arise spontaneously as in, for example, Crohn's disease or cancer.
** 2008, Sylvia Escott-Stump, Nutrition and Diagnosis-related Care, page 405:An intestinal fistula is an unwanted pathway from intestines to other organs (e.g., the bladder).
* (rare) A tube, a pipe, or a hole.
* (Christianity, historical) The tube through which the wine of the Eucharist was once sucked from the chalice in certain ceremonies (such as papal Masses).
    Synonym: calamus

#### Usage notes

* (medicine): The skin is regarded as an organ, so the definition includes the abnormal connection of an internal organ to the body's exterior (as in, for example, enterocutaneous fistulas).
* Sometimes, a fistula will be intentionally created; for example, an arteriovenous fistula is sometimes created to ease the treatment of a patient with end stage renal failure.

#### Derived terms

* anal fistula, fistula-in-ano
* arteriovenous fistula
* fistular
* fistulate
* fistulation
* fistuliform
* fistulization
* fistulize
* fistulogram
* fistulotomy
* fistulous
* vesicovaginal fistula

#### Translations
## Finnish
### Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin fistula.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈfistulɑ/, [ˈfis̠tulɑ̝]
* Rhymes: -istulɑ
* Hyphenation: fis‧tu‧la

### Noun

fistula
* (pathology) fistula (abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels)
    Synonym: fisteli
* (rare) fistula (thin tube or pipe, especially a metallic straw used to sip sacramental wine)

#### Declension

Possessive forms of fistula (Kotus type 12/kulkija, no gradation) :
first-person singular possessor
singular
plural
nominative
fistulani
fistulani
accusative
nom.
fistulani
fistulani
gen.
fistulani
genitive
fistulani
fistuloideni fistuloitteni fistulaini $^{rare}$
partitive
fistulaani
fistuloitani
inessive
fistulassani
fistuloissani
elative
fistulastani
fistuloistani
illative
fistulaani
fistuloihini
adessive
fistulallani
fistuloillani
ablative
fistulaltani
fistuloiltani
allative
fistulalleni
fistuloilleni
essive
fistulanani
fistuloinani
translative
fistulakseni
fistuloikseni
abessive
fistulattani
fistuloittani
instructive
comitative
—fistuloineni
second-person singular possessor
singular
plural
nominative
fistulasi
fistulasi
accusative
nom.
fistulasi
fistulasi
gen.
fistulasi
genitive
fistulasi
fistuloidesi fistuloittesi fistulaisi $^{rare}$
partitive
fistulaasi
fistuloitasi
inessive
fistulassasi
fistuloissasi
elative
fistulastasi
fistuloistasi
illative
fistulaasi
fistuloihisi
adessive
fistulallasi
fistuloillasi
ablative
fistulaltasi
fistuloiltasi
allative
fistulallesi
fistuloillesi
essive
fistulanasi
fistuloinasi
translative
fistulaksesi
fistuloiksesi
abessive
fistulattasi
fistuloittasi
instructive
comitative
—fistuloinesi
first-person plural possessor
singular
plural
nominative
fistulamme
fistulamme
accusative
nom.
fistulamme
fistulamme
gen.
fistulamme
genitive
fistulamme
fistuloidemme fistuloittemme fistulaimme $^{rare}$
partitive
fistulaamme
fistuloitamme
inessive
fistulassamme
fistuloissamme
elative
fistulastamme
fistuloistamme
illative
fistulaamme
fistuloihimme
adessive
fistulallamme
fistuloillamme
ablative
fistulaltamme
fistuloiltamme
allative
fistulallemme
fistuloillemme
essive
fistulanamme
fistuloinamme
translative
fistulaksemme
fistuloiksemme
abessive
fistulattamme
fistuloittamme
instructive
comitative
—fistuloinemme
second-person plural possessor
singular
plural
nominative
fistulanne
fistulanne
accusative
nom.
fistulanne
fistulanne
gen.
fistulanne
genitive
fistulanne
fistuloidenne fistuloittenne fistulainne $^{rare}$
partitive
fistulaanne
fistuloitanne
inessive
fistulassanne
fistuloissanne
elative
fistulastanne
fistuloistanne
illative
fistulaanne
fistuloihinne
adessive
fistulallanne
fistuloillanne
ablative
fistulaltanne
fistuloiltanne
allative
fistulallenne
fistuloillenne
essive
fistulananne
fistuloinanne
translative
fistulaksenne
fistuloiksenne
abessive
fistulattanne
fistuloittanne
instructive
comitative
—fistuloinenne
third-person possessor
singular
plural
nominative
fistulansa
fistulansa
accusative
nom.
fistulansa
fistulansa
gen.
fistulansa
genitive
fistulansa
fistuloidensa fistuloittensa fistulainsa $^{rare}$
partitive
fistulaansa
fistuloitaan fistuloitansa
inessive
fistulassaan fistulassansa
fistuloissaan fistuloissansa
elative
fistulastaan fistulastansa
fistuloistaan fistuloistansa
illative
fistulaansa
fistuloihinsa
adessive
fistulallaan fistulallansa
fistuloillaan fistuloillansa
ablative
fistulaltaan fistulaltansa
fistuloiltaan fistuloiltansa
allative
fistulalleen fistulallensa
fistuloilleen fistuloillensa
essive
fistulanaan fistulanansa
fistuloinaan fistuloinansa
translative
fistulakseen fistulaksensa
fistuloikseen fistuloiksensa
abessive
fistulattaan fistulattansa
fistuloittaan fistuloittansa
instructive
comitative
—fistuloineen fistuloinensa :

### Anagrams

* filusta, liftaus

## Latin
### Etymology

Unknown. De Vaan thinks the most promising connection is with festūca (“stalk, straw”) and fistūca (“pile driver, ram”), built on a stem *festo- which may be connected to ferula (“fennel; staff”) by a root *fes- (“hollow stalk”). This makes any relationship to findō (“cleave, divide, split”) unlikely.

### Pronunciation

* (Classical Latin) IPA: /ˈfis.tu.la/, [ˈfɪs̠t̪ʊɫ̪ä]
* (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA: /ˈfis.tu.la/, [ˈfist̪ulä]

### Noun

fistula f (genitive fistulae); first declension
* pipe, tube, especially a water pipe
* hollow reed or cane
* (music) shepherd's pipe, pipes of Pan
* fistula, ulcer
* catheter
* shoemaker's punch
* a kind of hand mill for grinding grain
* golden shower (Cassia fistula)

#### Declension

First-declension noun.

#### Derived terms

* fistella
* fistulāris
* fistulārius
* fistulātim
* fistulātor
* fistulātōrius
* fistulātus
* fistulēscō
* fistulō
* fistulōsus

#### Descendants

* Old French: festre
** ⇒ French: felle, fêle
** → English: fester
* Spanish: fistra
* Italian: fistia, fistio, >? fistola
Borrowings:
* → English: fistula
* → French: fistule
** → Romanian: fistulă
* → Galician: fístula
* → Portuguese: fístula
* → Russian: фистула (fistula)
* → Spanish: fístula

### References

* ↑ De Vaan, Michiel (2008) “fistula”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 223

### Further reading

* “fistula”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
* “fistula”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
* "fistula", in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
* fistula in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
* “fistula”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
* “fistula”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin
* Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002) “fistula”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, volumes 3: D–F, page 582

## Romanian
### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈfistula]

### Noun

fistula f
* definite nominative/accusative singular of fistulă

## Slovak
### Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin fistula.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈfistula]

### Noun

fistula f (relational adjective fistulový or fistulózny, diminutive fistulka)
* fistula

#### Declension
### Further reading

* “fistula”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2025

## Swahili
### Etymology

Borrowed from English fistula, from Latin fistula.

### Noun

fistula class IX (plural fistula class X)
* fistula