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Chondr- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “cartilage.” It is used in some medical and scientific terms.

Chondr- ultimately comes from the Greek ����ó�Ի���Dz�, meaning “cartilage” or “grain.”

Chondr- is a variant of chondrio-, which loses its -io– when combined with words or word elements beginning with vowels.

Want to know more? Read our 51�Թ�s That Use chondrio- article.

Closely related to chondr- is chondro-, as in chondromere, which is used in medical terms to indicate “cartilage” and scientific terms to indicate “grain” or “granular.”

One example of a medical term that features the combining form chondr- is chondrectomy, meaning “the excision of cartilage.”

The first part of the word, chondr-, means “cartilage.” The second combining form might also look familiar: -ectomy, meaning “excision, removal.” Chondrectomy literally translates to “cartilage removal.”

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

• chondral
• chondralgia
• chondrichthyan (using the equivalent form of chondri- in New Latin)
• chondrify
• chondrin
• chondrite
• chondritis
• chondrodynia
• chondroma
• chondrule

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

• chiro-
• chloro-
• choro-
• choroido-

The combining form -algia means “pain.” What does the medical condition of chondralgia involve?