hepatoscopy

[hep-uh-tos-kuh-pee]

noun, plural hep·a·tos·co·pies.

medical examination of the liver.
examination of the livers of sacrificed animals as a technique of divination.

Origin of hepatoscopy

First recorded in 1720–30; hepato- + -scopy

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for hepatoscopy

Historical Examples of hepatoscopy

Hepatoscopy or divination from the liver was undertaken by the Chaldeans for the purpose of determining what the gods had in mind.
Myths & Legends of Babylonia & Assyria
Lewis Spence
Hepatoscopy falls within the former category, Astrology and Birth-omens in the latter.
Babylonian-Assyrian Birth-Omens and Their Cultural Significance
Morris Jastrow
Hepatoscopy and Birth-omens thus followed the same course in passing from the distant East to the West.
Babylonian-Assyrian Birth-Omens and Their Cultural Significance
Morris Jastrow

hepatoscopy in Medicine

hepatoscopy

[hĕp′ə-tŏs′kə-pē]

n.

Examination of the liver.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.