What does chol mean in medical terms?

chol

Meaning: bile; gall

Type: Word root · Body system: Digestive System & Abdomen

A word root is the core of a word; prefixes and suffixes attach around it. On this page: what chol means, and real medical words that use it, each broken down into its parts.

Example words using chol

cholangitis
chol (bile) + angi (vessel, duct) + -itis (inflammation) = inflammation of a bile duct
cholesterol
chol (bile) + stere (solid) + -ol (chemical) = a solid substance first identified in bile

Shortened forms

Charts and notes shorten long terms — see the Medical Abbreviations guide for the short forms you will meet in real records.

Please note: This section teaches the language of medicine — what word parts mean and how terms are built. It is an educational reference, not medical advice. For the meaning of a word in your own medical record, ask the clinician who wrote it.