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rongeur

American  
[rohn-zhur, rawn-zhœr] / roʊnˈʒɜr, rɔ̃ˈʒœr /

noun

Surgery.
  • rongeurs
    plural
  1. a strongly constructed instrument with a sharp-edged, scoop-shaped tip, used for gouging out bone.


Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms


Etymology

Origin of rongeur

1880–85; < French: literally, gnawer


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.

See Examples For:

He had used a tool called a rongeur to chew up the scar tissue and had accidentally chewed up the scaphoid bone--ending Johnson's ability to do orthopedic surgery.

From Time Magazine Archive

She handed him a pair of pliers called the rongeur.

From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston

He put his helmet close to hers and spoke the word rongeur again, and she released her hose.

From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston

A probe is then passed into the ostium, and the anterior wall of the sinus is removed with a curette or rongeur forceps.

From Manual of Surgery Volume Second: Extremities—Head—Neck. Sixth Edition. by Alexander Miles

Treatment.—When the abscess is secondary to middle ear disease, the mastoid must be opened, the eroded bone exposed, and sufficient of it removed with rongeur forceps to admit of free drainage.

From Manual of Surgery Volume Second: Extremities—Head—Neck. Sixth Edition. by Alexander Miles

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