chelation

American  

[kee-ley-shuhn] / kiˈleɪ ʃən /

noun

1. Chemistry. the process of chelating.

2. Medicine/Medical.

   1. a method of removing certain heavy metals from the bloodstream, used especially in treating lead or mercury poisoning.

   2. a controversial treatment for arteriosclerosis that attempts to remove calcium deposits from the inner walls of the coronary arteries.

---

chelation British  

/ ˈkiːleɪʃən /

noun

1. chem the process by which a chelate is formed

2. animal husbandry the process by which trace elements in an animal's feed are bonded to amino acids, ensuring their absorption into the animal's body

3. geology the chemical removal of metallic ions in a mineral or rock by weathering

---

chelation Scientific  

/ kĭ-lā′shən /

1. The combination of a metal ion with a chemical compound to form a ring. Chelation is used in the industrial separation and extraction of metals and to treat metal poisoning.

---

Etymology

Origin of chelation

First recorded in 1930–35; chelate + -ion

Example Sentences

Some parents of children with autism, desperate for a remedy, have long reached for dubious and at times dangerous panaceas, including hyperbaric oxygen chambers and chelation therapy, used for the treatment of heavy metal poisoning.

From Salon

They would also put the children through chelation therapy to remove non-existent mercury from their systems.

From Salon

The effect was lasting — even 14 days after the exposure, the mice who had received the chelation injection had better hearing than those who had not.

From Seattle Times

Lead poisoning can be treated with chelation, a therapy that uses drugs that bind to metals in blood to remove them from the body.

From Seattle Times

Any bird found to have lead in its system can be treated through a blood-filtering process called chelation.

From Salon