cautery

American  

[kaw-tuh-ree] / ˈkɔ tə ri /

noun

cauteries plural

1. an escharotic substance, electric current, or hot iron used to destroy tissue.

2. the process of destroying tissue with a cautery.

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cautery British  

/ ˈkɔːtərɪ /

noun

1. the coagulation of blood or destruction of body tissue by cauterizing

2. Also called: cauterant.  an instrument or chemical agent for cauterizing

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cautery Scientific  

/ kô′tə-rē /

1. An agent or instrument used to destroy tissue, as in surgery, by burning, searing, cutting, or scarring, including caustic substances, electric currents, and lasers.

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• cauteries
  plural

Etymology

Origin of cautery

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin cautērium < Greek kautḗrion, equivalent to kautḗr branding iron ( see cauterize) + -ion diminutive suffix

Example Sentences

Lastly, the actual Cautery, which is Fire, must be apply'd thereto.

From The Compleat Surgeon or, the whole Art of Surgery explain'd in a most familiar Method. by Le Clerc, Charles Gabriel

If the Tumour be remote from the Anus, it may be open'd with the Potential Cautery, to avoid a greater Inconvenience.

From The Compleat Surgeon or, the whole Art of Surgery explain'd in a most familiar Method. by Le Clerc, Charles Gabriel

Of the application of the Cautery and its Bandage Ibid.

From The Compleat Surgeon or, the whole Art of Surgery explain'd in a most familiar Method. by Le Clerc, Charles Gabriel

Cautery was the application of a red-hot iron to the skin.

From Bloodletting Instruments in the National Museum of History and Technology by Appel, Toby

At the end of the room was a huge sign bearing his name and the words, "Positive Cure for Cancer Without Cautery or the Knife."

From The Social Gangster by Reeve, Arthur B. (Arthur Benjamin)