Cautery

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Cautery \Cau"ter*y\, n.; pl. {Cauteries}. [L. cauterium, Gr. ?.
     See {Cauter}.]
     1. (Med.) A burning or searing, as of morbid flesh, with a
        hot iron, or by application of a caustic that will burn,
        corrode, or destroy animal tissue.
        [1913 Webster]


  
     2. The iron of other agent in cauterizing.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     {Actual cautery}, a substance or agent (as a hot iron) which
        cauterizes or sears by actual heat; or the burning so
        effected.
  
     {Potential cautery}, a substance which cauterizes by chemical
        action; as, lunar caustic; also, the cauterizing produced
        by such substance.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  cautery
       n 1: an instrument or substance used to destroy tissue for
            medical reasons (eg removal of a wart) by burning it
            with a hot iron or an electric current or a caustic or
            by freezing it [syn: {cauterant}]
       2: the act of coagulating blood and destroying tissue with a
          hot iron or caustic agent or by freezing [syn: {cauterization},
           {cauterisation}]