California Certifying Board for Medical Assistants (CCBMA) Practice Test

The suffix that indicates a surgical procedure of making an opening is indeed "-otomy." This suffix is derived from the Greek word "tomia," meaning "to cut." In medical terminology, it refers to the act of making an incision or creating an opening into a hollow organ or cavity. For instance, "gastrostomy" involves creating an opening into the stomach.

To provide some context, the other suffixes serve different purposes in medical terminology. For example, "-phagia" relates to eating or swallowing, as seen in "dysphagia," which refers to difficulty swallowing. The suffix "-desis" indicates surgical fusion or binding, often used in contexts like "arthrodesis," which is the fusion of a joint. Lastly, "-stasis" refers to stability or stopping, commonly associated with conditions that involve the cessation of flow, such as "hemostasis," which pertains to the stopping of bleeding. Understanding these distinctions highlights why "-otomy" is the correct choice for indicating a surgical procedure that creates an opening.