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A caesarean section (cesarean section AE), or c-section, is a form of childbirth in which a surgical incision is made through a mother's abdomen (laparotomy) and uterus (hysterotomy) to deliver one or more babies. It is usually performed when a vaginal delivery would lead to medical complications, although it is increasingly common for otherwise normal births as well.

Etymology

There are several elements which contribute to a linguistic explanation of the word caesarean.

Most likely the term is the product of a combination of these. The beginning of the story is certainly the verb caedo: the phrase a matre caesus ("cut out of his mother") was used in Roman times to describe the operation. The real etymology of the name Caesar (a much older family name) is completely unrelated, but a very early folk etymology invented the story of Julius Caesar's birth by section in order to suggest that his name is derived from this verb.