Otolaryngology.

Yep. Say it with me: "Oto-laryng-ology."

I'd like to thank my 4 years of Latin for giving me a comprehensive understanding of what this field of medicine deals with long before I arrived in their office yesterday. I'll give you the break down: oto means ear, laryngo means throat/larynx, and logy always means the study of.

For you medical neophytes out there, it's your ear, nose, and throat doctor and/or head & neck surgeon. Mine just happens to look like Robert Kennedy, which would have been super fun sans the fact that I spent the succeeding 5+ hours with a bloody noise trying to type with one hand (the other hand was, obviously, keeping my nose from bleeding & snotting all over my new bedspread — sorry to be so graphic).

So, pushing my years of language based study aside, now my experience-based meaning of an otolaryngologist is “one who makes you feel like you've been punched in the nose.” More later. Ouch.