Surg. [mod. f. Gr. βρόγχος BRONCHUS + -τομία cutting.] The operation of making an incision in the windpipe; the generic term that includes thyrotomy, laryngotomy, and tracheotomy.
1706. in Phillips.
1713. Cheselden, Anat., III. xv. (1726), 259. This [nerve] … it is that we are earnestly cautioned to avoid in Bronchotomie.
1839–47. Todd, Cycl. Anat. & Phys., III. 573/2. A peculiarly eligible spot for bronchotomy.
1879. T. Bryant, Pract. Surg., II. 30. Any opening made by the surgeon into the windpipe is called ‘bronchotomy.’
