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cordotomy

American  
[kawr-dot-uh-mee] / kɔrˈdɒt ə mi /
Or chordotomy

noun

PLURAL

cordotomies

  1. the surgical severance of certain nerve fibers of the spinal cord to alleviate intractable pain.

Etymology

Origin of cordotomy

cord + -o- + -tomy

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

One of the commonest, for pain anywhere below the neck, is cordotomy�literally, cutting the spinal cord�a remedy that is less drastic than it sounds.

From Time Magazine Archive

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.