trephine

[ trih-fahyn, -feen ]

/ trɪˈfaɪn, -ˈfin /

Surgery

noun

a small circular saw with a center pin mounted on a strong hollow metal shaft to which is attached a transverse handle: used in surgery to remove circular disks of bone from the skull.

verb (used with object), tre·phined, tre·phin·ing.

to operate upon with a trephine.

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Origin of trephine

1620–30; spelling variant of trefine, orig. trafine, blend of trapan (variant of trepan¹) and Latin phrase trēs fīnēs three ends (the inventor's explanation)

OTHER WORDS FROM trephine

treph·i·na·tion

[tref-uh-ney-shuh n] /ˌtrɛf əˈneɪ ʃən/, noun

Words nearby trephine

trento, trenton, trepan, trepang, trephination, trephine, trepid, trepidant, trepidatio cordis, trepidation, treponema

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for trephining

After trephining the symptom improved, but got worse again; when seen by us was having one daily.
New, Old, and Forgotten Remedies: Papers by Many Writers|Various
In former days trephining was a much more frequent operation than it is now, and apparently more successful.
A Manual of the Operations of Surgery|Joseph Bell
Trephining is an operation which can be performed by any surgeon who is used to ophthalmic manipulations, and who has good sight.
Glaucoma|Various
Throughout the three campaigns of the Sleswick-Holstein war, there was only one case of trephining which gave a favorable result.
A Treatise on Gunshot Wounds|Thomas Longmore

An abscess involving the turbinated bones is similar to the collection of pus in the sinuses and must be relieved by trephining.
Special Report on Diseases of the Horse|United States Department of Agriculture

British Dictionary definitions for trephining

trephine

/ (trɪˈfiːn) /

noun

a surgical sawlike instrument for removing circular sections of bone, esp from the skull

verb

(tr) to remove a circular section of bone from (esp the skull)

Also called: trepan

Derived forms of trephine

trephination (ˌtrɛfɪˈneɪʃən), noun

Word Origin for trephine

C17: from French tréphine, from obsolete English trefine trepan 1, allegedly from Latin trēs fīnēs literally: three ends; influenced also by English trepane trepan 1

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 trephining

trephine

[ trĭ-fīn′ ]

n.

A cylindrical or crown saw for the removal of a disk of bone, especially from the skull, or removal of other firm tissue such as that of the cornea.

v.

To operate on with a trephine.