noun · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
UK:/ˈfɪs.tjə.lə/
UK:/ˈfɪs.tʃʊ.lə/
General-American:/ˈfɪs.tjə.lə/
General-American:/ˈfɪs.t͡ʃu.lə/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
1
noun
Meaning 1
An abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels that normally do not connect.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: medicine, sciences
Examples
communicating fistula
blind fistula
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
A tube, a pipe, or a hole.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: rare
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
The tube through which the wine of the Eucharist was once sucked from the chalice in certain ceremonies (such as papal Masses).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: historical
Topics: Christianity
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: calamus
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
an abnormal passage leading from a suppurating cavity to the body surface
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: sinus
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: passage, passageway
5
noun
Meaning 5
a chronic inflammation of the withers of a horse
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: fistulous withers
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: animal disease
History
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Latin fistula (“pipe, ulcer, catheter”). Doublet of fester.
Across languages
Translations
75 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Afrikaans:
fistel
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Arabic:
نَاسُور
(nāsūr)
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Armenian:
խուղակ
(xuġak)
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Bambara:
sugunɛkɛbana
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Bambara:
ɲɛgɛkɛbana
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Belarusian:
фістула
(fistula)
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Belarusian:
свішч
(svišč)
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Breton:
fic'h
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Bulgarian:
фистула
(fistula)
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Catalan:
fístula
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Cherokee:
ᎩᏍᏚᎳ
(gisdula)
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Chinese Mandarin:
瘺管 /瘘管
(lòuguǎn)
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Czech:
píštěl
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Danish:
fistel
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Dutch:
fistel
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Esperanto:
fistulo
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Finnish:
fisteli
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Finnish:
fistula
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
French:
fistule
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Friulian:
fìstule
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Georgian:
ფისტულა
(pisṭula)
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
German:
Fistel
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Greek:
συρίγγιο
(syríngio)
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Hebrew:
פִיסְטוּלָה
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Hindi:
भगन्दर
(bhagandar)
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Hungarian:
fisztula
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Hungarian:
sipoly
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Icelandic:
fistill
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Ido:
fistulo
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Indonesian:
hiliran
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Irish:
fiostúl
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Italian:
fistola
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Japanese:
瘻孔
(rōkō)
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Kannada:
ಫಿಸ್ಟುಲಾ
(phisṭulā)
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Kazakh:
жыланкөз
(jylanköz)
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Korean:
누공
(nugong)
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Latin:
fistula
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Latvian:
fistula
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Lithuanian:
fistulė
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Luxembourgish:
Fistel
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Malayalam:
ഭഗന്ദരം
(bhagandaraṁ)
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Manx:
sheane
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Nepali:
फिस्टुला
(phisṭulā)
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Norwegian Bokmål:
fistel
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Norwegian Nynorsk:
fistel
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Occitan:
fistula
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Polish:
przetoka
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Polish:
fistuła
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Portuguese:
fístula
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Punjabi:
ਫਿਸਤੁਲਾ
(phistulā)
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Romanian:
fistulă
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Romansh:
fistla
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Russian:
фи́стула
(fístula)
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Russian:
свищ
(svišč)
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Serbo-Croatian:
фи̏стула
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Serbo-Croatian:
fȉstula
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Slovak:
fistula
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Slovene:
fistula
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Lower Sorbian:
fistla
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Upper Sorbian:
fistla
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Spanish:
fístula
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Swahili:
nasuri
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Swedish:
fistel
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Turkish:
fistül
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Turkish:
akarca
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Ukrainian:
фістула
(fistula)
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Ukrainian:
свищ
(svyšč)
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Ukrainian:
нориця
(norycja)
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Vietnamese:
rò
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels
Welsh:
ffistwla
— abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels