procedure used to open blocked arteries, by 1976, from angio- + -plasty.
Entries linking to angioplasty
angio-
before vowels angi-, word-forming element meaning "vessel of the body," now often "covered or enclosed by a seed or blood vessel," from Latinized form of Greek angeion "case, capsule, vessel of the body," diminutive of angos "vessel, jar, vat, vase," which is of unknown origin. Beekes says "Possibly a Mediterranean loanword ..., as kitchen utensils are often borrowed."
-plasty
word-forming element meaning "act or process of forming," also "plastic surgery" applied to a specific part, from Greek -plastia, from plastos "molded, formed," verbal adjective from plassein "to mold" (see plasma).