enucleation

American  

[ih-noo-klee-ey-shuhn, -nyoo-] / ɪˌnu kliˈeɪ ʃən, -ˌnyu- /

noun

1. Biology. removal or elimination of the nucleus of a cell.

   Immature oocytes were obtained from hormone-stimulated goats and matured for 22 hours before enucleation.

2. Surgery. removal of an enclosed mass or body, such as a cyst, eyeball, or tumor, while leaving it whole.

   Enucleation of the cyst, along with removal of the tooth, is the treatment of choice.

   In some cases the surgeon may have to remove the eye, a procedure called enucleation.

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Etymology

Origin of enucleation

First recorded in 1610–20, for an earlier sense; equivalent to enucleat(e) ( def. ) + -ion ( def. )

Example Sentences

Some of the older survivors had facial abnormalities from radiation or enucleation.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 6, 2025

Ritchie: On the day we made Dolly, I would have done the enucleation, and she would have done the fusion.

From Nature • Jun. 28, 2016

Dr. Shields didn't feel enucleation was not the route to go.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 3, 2011

He was in a state of acute mania, and the explanation offered was that as a "grinder" before examination he had been diligently studying the surgery of the eye, and particularly that relating to enucleation.

From Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine by Pyle, Walter L. (Walter Lytle)

Lovort describes an enucleation of the eye in the second month of pregnancy.

From Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine by Pyle, Walter L. (Walter Lytle)