'arthrotomy' originates from New Latin/medical Latin, formed from Greek elements 'arthron' meaning 'joint' and 'tomē' meaning 'a cutting'.

'arthrotomy' was formed in medical/Neo-Latin as 'arthrotomia' by combining the Greek roots 'arthron' + 'tomē' and then entered English usage as 'arthrotomy'.

Initially it meant 'the act of cutting into a joint' and this core meaning has remained largely unchanged in medical usage.