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A tracheotomy is an operation in which a doctor cuts a small opening in the front of the neck, into the , so that a person can breathe through that hole instead of through the nose and mouth. It is done when the normal way in is blocked or damaged, or when a patient needs a machine to help them breathe for a long time. A tube is usually put into the opening to hold it open, and the person may then speak in a different voice, or need help to speak at all. Later the hole can often be closed again. This is a medical word, and you will meet it in hospitals, medical dramas, and news reports about someone badly . You will also see the very similar word 'tracheostomy'. Doctors sometimes separate them — the cut itself versus the lasting opening — but in ordinary use, including in the news, the two words are used for the same thing, so do not worry if you see both.
氣管切開術（台灣醫院口語常說「氣切」）
組成tracheo-（氣管，來自 trachea）+ -tomy（切開，來自希臘文 τέμνω「切」）。合起來就是「把氣管切開」。-tomy 這個結尾在醫學字裡很常見，看到它就知道跟「開刀切開」有關。
同家族的字
- tracheathe same windpipe root — a tracheotomy is an opening cut into it
- anatomyshares the Greek -tom- 'cut'; anatomy began as the study of cutting a body open to see inside
- appendectomythe same -tomy/-ectomy family of 'cutting' operation names
原始詞典資料1 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
tracheotomynoun
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medicinesciencessurgeryA surgical procedure in which an incision is made into the trachea, through the neck, and a tube inserted so as to make an artificial opening in order to assist breathing.
資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。