| A | B |
|---|
| Abaptiston | A cone-shaped trephine designed to avoid penetration of the brain when incising the skull |
| Abdominoplasty | Excision of abdominal fat and skin for cosmetic purposes. |
| Ablation | The removal, esp. of organs, abnormal growths, or harmful substances from the body by mechanical means, as by surgery. |
| Acus | A needle, esp. one used in a surgical operation. |
| Acusector | A needle for cutting tissue by means of a high-frequency electric current. |
| Adenectomy | Surgical removal of the adenoids. |
| Allograft | A tissue or organ obtained from one member of a species and grafted to genetically dissimilar member of the same species. Also called "allotransplant, homograft, homotransplant." Cf. "Autograft, syngraft, xenograft." |
| Amputate | To cut off (all or part of a limb or digit of the body), as by surgery. |
| Anaplasty | Reconstruction or restoration, esp. by plastic surgery, of a lost or injured part. |
| Angioplasty | The repair of a blood vessel, as by inserting a balloon-tipped catheter to unclog it or by replacing part of the vessel with either a piece of the patient’s own tissue or a prosthetic device: Example: coronary angioplasty to widen an artery blocked by plaque. |
| Appendectomy | Excision of the vermiform appendix. |
| Arteriotomy | The incision or opening into the lumen of an artery for the removal of a clot, embolus, or the like, or, formerly, for bloodletting. |
| Arthrectomy | Erasion |
| Arthroplasty | The Surgical repair of a joint or the fashioning of a movable joint, using the patient’s own tissue or an artificial replacement. |
| Artificial Heart | Any of various four-chambered devices, modeled on the human heart, that pump blood by attachment to a power source and that are constructed for temporary external use or for implantation as a temporary or permanent heart replacement. |
| Artificial Kidney | A mechanical device that operates outside the body and substitutes for the kidney by removing waste products from the blood, Also called "hemodialyzer." Cf Dialysis |
| Atherectomy | The removal of plaque from an artery by means of a tiny rotating cutting blade inserted through a catheter. |
| Autograft | A tissue or organ that is grafted into a new position on the body of the individual from which it was removed. Also called " autoplast, autotransplant." Cf. allograft, syngraft, xenograft |
| Autologous | From the same organism: Example: and autologous graft |
| Autoplasty | The repair of defects with tissue from another part of the patient’s body. |
| Balloon Angioplasty | A method of opening a clogged or narrowed blood vessel in which a small balloon is introduced into the vessel by means of a catheter and then inflated at the site of blockage. |
| Bikini Cut | A horizontal surgical incision in the lower abdomen, often used for a hysterectomy or a Cesarean delivery, so called because it leaves a less noticeable scar than does a vertical incision. |
| Bioplastic | Plastic suitable for use as a biomaterial. |
| Blepharoplasty | Plastic surgery of the eyelid, used to remove epicanthic folds, sagging tissue, or winkles around the eyes or to repair injury to the eyelid. |
| Bloodletting | The act or practice of letting blood by opening a vein; phlebotomy. |
| Bone Marrow Transplant | The technique in which a small amount of bone marrow is withdrawn by a syringe. from a donor’s pelvic bone and injected into a patient whose ability to make new blood cells has been impaired by a disease, as anemia or cancer, or by exposure to radiation. |
| Bur | A cutting tool resembling that of a dentist, used for the excavation of bone. |
| Buttonhole | A short, straight incision through the wall of a cavity or a canal. |
| Bypass | A surgical procedure in which a diseased or obstructed hollow organ is temporarily or permanently circumvented. Cf coronary bypass, gastric bypass, heart-lung machine, intestinal bypass. |
| Cannula | A metal tube for insertion into the body to draw off fluid or to introduce medication. |
| Cardiectiomy | Excision of the heart. |
| Cardiectomy | Excision of the cardiac section of the stomach. |
| Castrate | To remove the testes of; emasculated; geld. |
| Centesis | A puncture into a body cavity, usually to remove fluid. |
| Cesarean | Also called Cesarean section, c-section. "An operation by which a fetus is taken from the uterus by cutting through the walls of the abdomen and uterus. |
| Cheiloplasty | Plastic surgery of the lip. |
| Chemopallidectomy | An operation for treating Parkinson’s disease and certain other diseases characterized by muscular rigidity, consisting of destroying a specific part of the corpus striatum by injection it with a chemical, usually alcohol. |
| Chemosurgery | The use of chemical substances to destroy diseased or unwanted tissue. |
| Cholecystectomy | Removal of the gallbladder |
| Circumcise | To remove the prepuce of (a male), esp. as a religious rite. |
| Circumcision | An act, instance, or the rite of circumcising. |
| Coapt | To bring close together: Example: The Surgeons coapted the edges of the wound. |
| Cochlear Implant | A device consisting of microelectrodes that deliver electrical stimuli directly to the auditory nerve when surgically implanted into the cochlea, enabling a person with sensorineural deafness to hear. Also called "artificial ear." |
| Colectomy | The removal of all or part of the colon or large intestine. |
| Colotomy | Incision or opening of the colon. |
| Commissurotomy | The incision of a band of commissures, esp. of miltral fibers, to correct mitral stenosis, Cf. valvulotomy. |
| Compressor | An instrument for compressing a part of the body. |
| Cordotomy | The surgical severance of certain nerve fibers of the spinal cord to alleviate intractable pain. |
| Coronary Bypass | The surgical revascularization of the heart, using healthy blood vessels of the patient, performed to circumvent obstructed coronary vessels and improve blood flow. |
| Cosmetic Surgery | Plastic surgery for improving a person’s appearance by restoration of damaged areas of skin, removal of wrinkles or blemishes, etc. |
| Costectomy | Excision of part of all of a rib. Also called "thoracectomy." |
| Costomotme | An instrument, as shears or a knife, for incising or dividing a rib, as in costotomy. |
| Craniotomy | The operation of opening the skull, usually for operations on the brain. |
| Cryoextraction | The surgical removal of a cataract with a cryoprobe. |
| Cryoprobe | An instrument used in cryosurgery, having a supercooled tip for applying extreme cold to diseased tissue in order to remove or destroy it. |
| Cryosurgery | The use of extreme cold to destroy tissue for therapeutic purpose. |
| Curette | A scoop-shaped surgical instrument for removing tissue from body cavities, as the uterus. |
| Cutdown | The incision of a superficial vein in order to effect direct insertion of a catheter. |
| Cyclotome | A type of scalpel for performing a cyclotomy. |
| Cyclotomy | Incision of the ciliary muscle. |
| Cystectomy | Excision of a cyst or bladder, usually from the urinary bladder. |
| Debride | To clean (a wound) by debridement. |
| Debridement | Surgical removal of foreign matter and dead tissue from a wound. |
| Decerebrate | To remove the cerebrum. |
| Decompression | The procedure of relieving increased cranial, cardiac, or orbital pressure. |
| Decorticate | To remove the cortex from (an organ or structure). |
| Decortication | The removal of the cortex, the enveloping membrane, or a fibrinous covering from an organ or structure. |
| Dehiscence | The bursting open of a surgically closed wound. |
| Depressor | An instrument for pressing down a protruding part, as a tongue depressor. |
| Dermatome | A mechanical instrument for cutting thin sections of skin for grafting. |
| Dilator | An instrument for dilating body canals, orifices, or cavities. |
| Divulse | To tear away or apart, as distinguished from cut or dissect. |
| Divulsion | A tearing apart; violent separation. |
| Drain | A material or appliance for maintaining the opening of a wound to permit free exit of fluids. |
| Drainage | The drainage of fluids, as bile, urine, etc., from the body, or of pus and other diseased products from a wound. |
| Duodenojejunostom | The formation of an artificial connection between the duodenum and the jejunum. |
| Electrosurgery | The use in surgery of an electric instrument, as an acusector, or of an electric current, as in electrocoagulation; surgical diathemy. |
| Embryectomy | Removal of an embryo. |
| Embryotomy | Dismemberment of a fetus, when natural delivery is impossible, in order to effect its removal. |
| Encephalotomy | Surgical incision or dissection of the brain. |
| Endarterectomy | The surgical stripping of a fat-encrusted, thickened arterial lining so as to open or widen the artery for improved blood circulation. |
| Engraft | (Of living tissue) to become grafted. |
| Enterectomy | Excision of part of the intestine. |
| Enucleate | To remove (a kernel, tumor, eyeball, etc.) From its enveloping cover. |
| Eviscerate | To remove the contents of (a body organ). |
| Excise | To cut out or off, as a tumor. |
| Excision | The surgical removal of a foreign body or of tissue. |
| Exfoliate | To remove the surface of (a bone, the skin, etc.) In scales or laminae. |
| Exfoliation | The act, state, or process of exfoliating. |
| Explore | To investigate into, esp. mechanically, as with a probe. |
| Exscind | To cut out or off. |
| Exsect | To cut out. |
| Extension | The act of pulling the broken or dislocated part of a limb in a direction from the trunk, in order to bring the ends of the bone into their natural situation. |
| Exteriorize | To expose (an internal structure) temporarily outside the body, for observation, surgery, or experimentation. |
| Extirpate | To pull up by or as if by the roots; root up: Example: to extirpate an unwanted hair. |
| Eye Tuck | Eyelift. |
| Fistula | An opening made into a hollow organ, as the bladder or eyeball, for drainage. |
| Fixator | A device incorporating a metal bar and pins that is used in stabilizing difficult bone fractures. |
| Flap | A portion of skin or flesh that is partially separated from the body and may subsequently be transposed by grafting. |
| Fleam | A kind of lancet, as for opening veins. |
| Forceps | An instrument, as pincers or tongs, for seizing and holding objects, as in surgical operations. |
| Freeze | To render part of the body insensitive to pain or slower in its function by artificial means. |
| Gag | To fasten open the jaws of, as in surgical operations. |
| Ganglionectomy | The excision of a ganglion. |
| Gastrectomy | Partial or total excision of the stomach. |
| Gastric Bypass | A Surgical procedure by which all or part of the stomach is circumvented by anastomosis to the small intestine, performed to overcome obstruction or in the treatment of morbid obesity. Also called "gastroplasty." |
| Gastroenterostomy | The making of a new passage between the stomach and the duodenum (gastroduodenostomy) or, esp., the jejunum (gastrojejunostomy). |
| Gastroplasty | Any plastic surgery on the stomach. |
| Gastrostomy | The construction of an artificial opening from the stomach through the abdominal wall, permitting intake of food or drainage of gastric contents. |
| General | (of anesthesia or and anesthetic) causing loss of consciousness and abolishing sensitivity to pain throughout the body. |
| Graft | A portion of living tissue surgically transplanted from one part of an individual to another, or from one individual to another, for its adhesion and growth. |
| Gyrectomy | Excision of a cerebral gyrus. |
| Hair Implant | The insertion of synthetic fibers or human hair into the scalp to cover baldness. Cf. Hair Transplant. |
| Hernioplasty | An operation for the repair of a hernia. |
| Herniorrhaphy | Correction of a hernia by a suturing procedure. |
| Heteroplasty | The repair of lesions with tissue from another individual or species. |
| Hymenotomy | Incision of the hymen |
| Hypophysectomy | Excision of the pituitary gland. |
| Hysterectomy | Excision of the uterus. |
| Ileocolostomy | The surgical formation of an artificial opening between the ileum and the colon. |
| Ileostomy | The construction of an artificial opening from the ileum through the abdominal wall, permitting drainage of the contents of the small intestine. |
| Imbrication | Overlapping of layers of tissue in the closure of wounds or in the correction of defects. |
| Implantable | Pertaining to a device, as a micro-pump or porous polymer membrane, for surgical insertion under the skin for the controlled release of a drug. |
| Incision | A cutting into, esp. for surgical purposes. |
| Inosculate | To unite by openings, as arteries in anastomosis. |
| Intestinal Bypass | The surgical circumvention, by anastomosis, of a diseased portion of the intestine; also sometimes used to reduce nutrient absorption in morbidly obese patients. |
| In Utero Surgery | Surgery performed on a fetus while it is in the womb. |
| Iridectome | A slender cutting instrument used in performing an iridectomy. |
| Iridectomize | To perform an iridectomy on. |
| Iridectomy | Excision of part of the iris. |
| Jejunectomy | Excision of part or all of the jejunum. |
| Jejunostomy | An artificial opening from the jejunum through the abdominal wall, created for the drainage of jejunal contents or for feeding. |
| Keratectomy | Excision of part of the cornea. |
| Keratoplasty | Plastic surgery performed upon the cornea, esp. a corneal transplantation. |
| Keratotomy | Incision of the cornea. |
| Laminectomy | The surgical removal of part of the posterior arch of a vertebra to provide access to the spinal canal, as for the excision of a ruptured disk. |
| Lancet | A small surgical instrument, usually sharp-point and two-edged, for making small incisions, opening abscesses, etc. |
| Laparectomy | Excision of strips of the abdominal wall and suturing of the wounds so as to correct laxity of abdominal muscles. |
| Laparoscope | A flexible fiberoptic instrument, passed thorugh a small incision in the abdominal wall and equipped with biopsy forceps, an obturator, scissors or the like, with which to examine the abdominal cavity or perform minor surgery. |
| Laparoscopy | Examination of the abdominal cavity or performance of minor abdominal surgery using a laparoscope. |
| Laparotome | A cutting instrument for performing a laparotomy. |
| Laparotomy | Incision through the abdominal wall. |
| Laryngectomy | Excision of part or all of the larynx. |
| Laserscope | A surgical instrument that employs a laser beam to destroy diseased tissue or to create small channels; used to open clogged arteries and, in ophthalmology, to treat patients with glaucoma or diabetic retinopathy. |
| Laser Surgery | The surgical use of lasers. |
| Levator | An instrument used to raise a depressed part of the skull. |
| Ligation | The act of ligating, esp. of surgically tying up a bleeding artery. |
| Lipectomy | The surgical removal of fatty tissue. Cf. suction lipectomy. |
| Lithotomy | Surgery to remove one or more stones from an organ or duct. |
| Lithotrite | An instrument for performing lithotrity. |
| Lithotrity | The operation of crushing stone in the urinary bladder into particles small enough to be voided. |
| Lobectomy | Excision of a lobe of an organ or gland. |
| Lobotomized | Having undergone a lobotomy. |
| Lobotomy | The operation of cutting into a lobe, as of the brain or the lung. |
| Lop | To cut off (a limb, part, or the like) from a person, animal, etc. |
| Lumpectomy | The surgical removal of a breast cyst or tumor. |
| Lymphadenectomy | The excision of one or more lymph nodes, usually as a procedure in the surgical removal or destruction of a cancer. |
| Mammoplasty | Reconstruction or alteration in size or contour of the breast. |
| Mastectomy | The operation of removing all or part of the breast or mamma. Also called "mammectomy." |
| Mastoidectomy | The removal of part of a mastoid process, usually for draining a infection. |
| Mastopexy | Fixation of a pendulous breast. |
| Meniscectomy | The surgical excision of a meniscus, as of the knee joint. |
| Memtoplasty | Plastic surgery to correct a functional or cosmetic deformity of the chin. |
| Microprobe | A miniature probe for use in microsurgery. |
| Microsurgery | Any of various surgical procedures performed under magnification and with small specialized instruments, permitting very delicate operations, as the reconnection of severed blood vessels and nerves. |
| Minilaparotomy | Laparotomy with a small incision into the abdomen, often no more than 1 in. (2.5 cm), used sep. for tubal ligation. |
| Myomectomy | The surgical removal of a myoma, esp. the excision of a fibroid tumor from the uterus. |
| Myotom | Surgical incision of the tympanic membrane. |
| Necrotomy | The dissection of dead bodies. |
| Nephrectomy | Excision of a kidney. |
| Nephrolithotomy | Incision or opening of a kidney pelvis for removal of a calculus. |
| Nephrotomy | Incision into the kidney, as for the removal of a calculus |
| Neurectomy | The removal of part or all of a nerve. |
| Neurolysis | Separation of adhesions from a nerve fiber. |
| Neurosurgery | Surgery of the brain or other nerve tissue. |
| Neurotomy | The cutting of a nerve, as to relieve neuralgia. |
| Oophorectomy | The operation of removing one or both ovaries; ovariectomy. |
| Open-Heart Surgery | Surgery performed on the exposed heart while a heart-lung machine pumps and oxygenated the blood and diverts it from the heart. |
| Operable | That which can be treated by a surgical operation. Cf "inoperable" |
| Operated | To have performed a surgical procedure. |
| Operation | A procedure aimed at restoring or improving the health of a patient, as by correcting a malformation, removing diseased parts, implanting new parts, etc. |
| Orchiectomy | Excision of one or both testes; castration. |
| Orthognathic Surgery | The surgical correction of deformities or malpositions of the jaw. |
| Ostectomy | Excision of part or all of a bone. |
| Osteoclasis | The fracturing of a bone to correct deformity. |
| Osteoclast | An instrument for effecting osteoclasis. |
| Osteoplastic | Pertaining to osteoplasty. |
| Osteotome | A double-beveled chisel like instrument for cutting or dividing bone. |
| Osteotomy | The dividing of a bone, or the excision of part of it. |
| Ostomy | Any of various surgical procedures, as a colostomy, in which an artificial opening is made so as to permit the drainage of waste products either into an appropriate organ or to the outside of the body. |
| Otoplasty | Plastic surgery of the external ear. |
| Ovariectomy | The operation of removing one or both ovaries, ophorectomy. |
| Ovariotomy | Incision into or removal of an ovary. |
| Pancreatectomy | Excision of part or all of the pancreas. |
| Pancreatotomy | Incision of the pancreas. |
| Paracentesis | Puncture of the wall of a cavity to drain off fluid. Also called "tapping." |
| Parathyroldectomy | The excision of a parathyroid gland. |
| Peg Leg | An artificial leg, esp. a wooden one. |
| Penetrating | Noting a wound that pierces the skin, esp. a deep wound entering an organ or body cavity. |
| Perfuse | To pass (fluid) through blood vessels or the lymphatic system. |
| Perfusion | The passage of fluid through the lymphatic system or blood vessels to an organ or a tissue. |
| Peritonealize | To cover with peritoneum. |
| Pharyngectomy | Excision of part or all of the pharynx. |
| Phlebotome | A cutting instrument used for phlebotomy. |
| Plastic | Concerned with or pertaining to the remedying or restoring of malformed, injured, or lost parts: Example: a plastic operation. |
| Plastic Surgery | The branch of surgery dealing with the repair or replacement of malformed, injured, or lost organs or tissues of the body, chiefly by the transplant of living tissue. |
| Plicate | To perform plication on. |
| Plomb | Any inert material inserted into a body cavity for therapeutic purpose. |
| Plug | A patch of scalp with viable hair follicles that is used as a graft for a bald part of the head. Cf. "hair transplant." |
| Pneumonectomy | Excision of part or all of a lung. |
| Prefrontal Lobotomy | A psycho-surgical procedure in which the frontal lobes are separated from the rest of the brain by cutting the connecting nerve fibers. Also called "frontal lobotomy, lobotomy." |
| Preparation | A specimen, as an animal body, prepared for scientific examination, dissection, etc. |
| Prepare | To put in proper condition or readiness: Example: to prepare a patient for surgery. |
| Prostatectomy | Excision of part or all of the prostate gland. |
| Prosthesis | A device, either external or implanted, that substitutes for or supplements a missing or defective part of the body. |
| Prosthetics | The branch of surgery or of dentistry that deals with replacement of missing parts with artificial structures. Cf. "prosthodontics." |
| Psychosurgery | Treatment of mental disorders by means of brain surgery. Cf. "lobotomy." |
| Ptyalectasis | Spontaneous or surgical dilatation of a salivary duct. |
| Purse-String Suture | A suture for a circular opening, stitched around the edge, that closes it when pulled. |
| Pyloroplasty | The surgical alteration of the pylorus, usually a widening to facilitate the passage of food from the stomach to the duodenum. |
| Psychosurgery | Treatment of mental disorders by means of brain surgery. Cf. "lobotomy." |
| Ptyalectasis | Spontaneous or surgical dilatation of a salivary duct. |
| Pyloroplasty | The surgical alteration of the pylorus, usually a widening to facilitate the passage of food from the stomach to the duodenum. |
| Radio Knife | An electrical instrument for cutting tissue that by searing severed blood vessels seals them and prevents bleeding. |
| Reconstructive Surgery | The restoration of appearance and function following injury or disease, or the correction of congenital defects, using the techniques of plastic surgery. |
| Remiplant | To restore (a tooth, organ, limb, or other structure) to its original site. |
| Reimplantation | The surgical restoration of a tooth, organ, limb. Or other structure to its original site. |
| Replant | To reattach, as a severed arm, finger, or toe, esp. with the use of microsurgery to reconnect nerves and blood vessels. |
| Reposition | Replacement, as of a bone. |
| Resect | An instrument or appliance for drawing back an impeding part, as the edge of an incision. |
| Revascularization | The restoration of the blood circulation of an organ or area, achieved by unblocking obstructed or disrupted blood vessels or by surgically implanting replacements. |
| Revascularize | To surgically improve the blood circulation of (an organ or area of the body). |
| Rhinoplasty | Plastic surgery of the nose. |
| Rhizotomy | The surgical section or cutting of the spinal nerve roots, usually posterior or sensory roots, to eliminate pain. |
| Rhytidectomy | Face-lift. |
| Rongeur | A strongly constructed instrument with a sharp-edge, scoop-shaped tip, used for gouging out bone. |
| Salpingectomy | Excision of the fallopian tube. |
| Salpingostomy | The formation of an artificial opening into a fallopian tube. |
| Scalpel | A small, light, usually straight knife used in surgical and anatomical operations and dissections. |
| Scapulary | A shoulder dressing that keeps the shoulder or another bandage in place. |
| Scarification | An act or instance of scarifying. |
| Scarificator | A surgical instrument for scarifying. |
| Scarify | To make scratches or superficial incisions in (the skin, a wound, etc.), as in vaccination. |
| Sclerotome | An instrument for use in performing a sclerotomy. |
| Scoop | A spoonlike apparatus for removing substances or foreign objects from the body. |
| Section | To make an incision. |
| Septectomy | Excision of part or all of a septum, esp. the nasal septum. |
| Sequestrectomy | The removal of dead spicules or portions, esp. of bone. |
| Set | To put (a broken or dislocated bone) back in position. |
| Seton | A thread or the like inserted beneath the skin to provide drainage or to guide subsequent passage of a tube. |
| Sex Change | The alteration, by surgery and hormone treatments, of a person’s morphological sex characteristics to approximate those of the opposite sex. |
| Shunt | A channel through which blood or other bodily fluid is diverted from its normal path by surgical reconstruction or by a synthetic tube. |
| Skin Graft | Skin used for transplanting in skin grafting. |
| Skin Planing | Dermabrasion. |
| Snare | A wire noose for removing tumors or the like by the roots or at the base. |
| Sound | To examine, as the urinary bladder, with a sound. |
| Speculum | An instrument fro rendering a part accessible to observation, as by enlarging an orifice. |
| Splenectomy | Excision of removal of the spleen. Also called "lienectomy." |
| Sponge | A sterile surgical dressing of absorbent material, usually cotton gauze, for wiping or absorbing pus, blood, or other fluids during a surgical operation. |
| Spud | An instrument having a dull flattened blade for removing substances or foreign bodies from certain parts of the body, as wax from the ear. |
| Stapedectomy | A micro surgical procedure to relieve deafness by replacing the stapes of the ear with a prosthetic device. |
| Stoma | An artificial opening between two hollow organs or between one hollow organ and the outside of the body, constructed to permit the passage of body fluids or waste products. |
| Strip | To remove (a vein) by pulling it inside out through a small incision, using a long, hooked instrument. |
| Strumectomy | Excision of part or all of a goiter. |
| Suction and Curettage | A technique involving extraction of the fetus through a suction tube, used to perform abortions during the early stages of pregnancy. |
| Suction Lipectomy | The removal of fatty tissue by making a small incision in the skin, loosening the fat layer, and withdrawing it by suction. Cf. "lipectomy." |
| Surgeon | A physician who specializes in surgery. |
| Surgery | The art, practice, or work of treating diseases, injuries, or deformities by manual or operative procedures; Treatment, as an operation, performed by a Surgeon. |
| Surgical | Pertaining to or involving surgery or Surgeons. |
| Surgical Needle | A needle for suturing. |
| Surgicenter | A surgical facility, not based in a hospital, where minor surgery is performed on an outpatient basis. |
| Sympathectomy | Surgery that interrupts a nerve pathway of the sympathetic or involuntary nervous system. |
| Syndesmectomy | Excision of part of a ligament. |
| Syngraft | A tissue or organ transplanted from one member of a species to another, genetically identical member of the species, as a kidney transplanted from one identical twin to the other. Also called "isograft, isoplastic graft, syngeneic graft" Cf. "allograft, autograft, xenograft." |
| Tap | The withdrawal of fluid: Example" spinal tap. |
| Taxis | The replacing of a displaced part, or the reducing of a hernia or the like, by manipulation without cutting. |
| Tenaculum | A small sharp-pointed hook set in a handle, used for seizing and picking up parts in operations and dissections. |
| Tenorrpaphy | Suture of a tendon. |
| Tenotomy | The cutting of a tendon. |
| Tent | A roll or pledget, usually of soft absorbent material, as lint or gauze, for dilating an orifice, keeping a wound open, etc. |
| Therapeutic Abortion | Abortion performed when a woman’s pregnancy endangers her health. |
| Thermocoagulation | The coagulation of tissue by heat-producing high-frequency electric currents, used therapeutically to remove small growths or to create specific lesions in the brain. |
| Thoracoplasty | The operation removing selected portions of the ribs to collapse part of the underlying lung or an abnormal pleural space, usually in the treatment of tuberculosis. |
| Thoracostomy | The construction of an artificial opening through the chest wall, usually for the drainage of fluid or the release of an abnormal accumulation of air. |
| Thoracotomy | Incision into the chest cavity. |
| Thrombectomy | Surgical removal of a blood clot from a blood vessel. |
| Thymectomy | Surgical removal of the thymus gland. |
| Throidectomy | Excision of all or a part of the thyroid gland. |
| Thyrotome | An instrument for cutting the thyroid cartilage. |
| Thyrotomy | Incision or splitting of the thyroid cartilage; laryngotomy. Cf. "thyroidectomy." |
| Tracheostomy | The construction of an artificial opening through the neck into the trachea, usually for the relief of difficulty in breathing. |
| Trocar | A sharp-point instrument enclosed in a cannula, used for withdrawing fluid from a cavity, as the abdominal cavity. |
| Tubal Ligation | A method of permanent sterilization for women, involving the surgical sealing of the fallopian tubes to prevent the ovum from passing from the ovary to the uterus. |
| Tuck | A plastic surgery operation: Example: a tummy tuck. |
| Tympanoplasty | Reconstruction of the eardrum and the bones of the middle ear. |
| Ureterolithotomy | Incision of a ureter from removal of a calculus. |
| Ureterostomy | The construction of an artificial opening from the ureter through the abdominal wall or the flanks, permitting the passage of urine. |
| Urethrectomy | Excision or removal of part or all of the urethra. |
| Urethrostyomy | The construction of an artificial opening from the urethra through the perineum, permitting the passage of urine. |
| Urethrotomy | An operation to cut a stricture of the urethra. |
| Uvulectomy | Excision of the uvula. |
| Vaginectomy | Excision of part or all of the vagina. |
| Vagotomy | The surgical severance of vagus nerve fibers, performed to reduce acid secretion by the stomach. Cf. "vaginal block." |
| Valvulotomy | The opening, slitting, or fracturing of a heart valve. |
| Varicocelectomy | The surgical removal or ligation of varicose veins in the scrotal sac. |
| Varicotomy | Surgical removal of a varicose vein. |
| Vasectomy | Excision of the vas deferens, or of a portion of it: performed to effect sterility in men. |
| Vasoligation | Ligation of the vas deferens. |
| Vasotomy | Incision or opening of the vas deferens. |
| Vasovasostomy | The reversal of a vasectomy, performed by surgical reconnection of the severed ends of the vas deferens. |
| Veinpuncture | The puncture of a vein for surgical or therapeutic purpose or for collection of blood specimens for analysis. |
| Vitrectomy | The micro-surgical procedure of removing the vitreous humor and replacing it with saline solution, performed to improve vision that has been impaired by opacities. |
| Vivisect | To dissect the living body of (an animal). |
| Wadding | Any large dressing made of cotton or a similar absorbent material that is used to stanch the flow of blood or dress a wound. |
| Xenograft | A graft obtained from a member of one species and transplanted to a member of another species. Also called "heterograft." Cf. "allograft, autograft, syngraft." |
| Xyster | A surgical instrument fro scraping bones. |
| Zooplasty | The transplantation of living tissue to the human body from an animal of another species. |
