electrocautery

[ ih-lek-troh-kaw-tuh-ree ]

/ ɪˌlɛk troʊˈkɔ tə ri /

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noun, plural e·lec·tro·cau·ter·ies.Medicine/Medical.

a handheld, needlelike cautery heated by an electric current.

Also e·lec·tro·cau·ter·i·za·tion. the process of cutting and cauterizing skin simultaneously, or coagulating blood from vessels around a surgical incision, by means of an electrocautery.

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Origin of electrocautery

First recorded in 1880–85; electro- + cautery

Words nearby electrocautery

electrobiology, electrocaloric effect, electrocardiogram, electrocardiograph, electrocauterization, electrocautery, electrocerebral silence, electrochemical, electrochemical equivalent, electrochemical series, electrochemistry

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British Dictionary definitions for electrocautery

electrocautery

/ (ɪˌlɛktrəʊˈkɔːtərɪ) /

noun

vet science the use of an electrically heated metal instrument for cautery

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medical definitions for electrocautery

electrocautery

[ ĭ-lĕk′trō-kô′tə-rē ]

An instrument for directing a high-frequency current through a local area of tissue.

A metal cauterizing instrument heated by electricity.

The cauterization of tissue by means of one of these instruments.