Glossary of Terms

Lobectomy
The lungs are subdivided into sections referred to as "lobes". The right lung has three lobes, while the left lung has two lobes. A lobectomy is an operation in which the surgeon removes one of "lobes" of the lung. The term "ectomy", when attached to the name of a body part, generally means that body part or a part of the body part is being removed. Lobectomies are done for a variety of surgical diseases, such as cancer, some severe infections, and some benign non-cancerous tumors of the lung.