Why “noncholestatic” is a great word
Not characterized by or causing the impairment or stoppage of bile flow. From the English prefix non- (meaning "not") + cholestatic, which is derived from cholestasis (from Greek cholē, "bile," + stasis, "a standing still"). Unlike "cholestatic," which specifies the blockage of bile's passage, or "hepatocellular," which points to injury within the liver's own cells, noncholestatic is a term of exclusion that carves out diagnostic space by what it is not. It is the clear drainage of a healthy duct, the unobstructed trickle of bile beneath a surgeon's lamp, the absence of jaundice in a patient's steady gaze—a reminder that in medicine, the definitive lack of one profound trouble can itself be a form of good news.