electrocautery

[ ih-lek-troh-kaw-tuh-ree ]
/ ɪˌlɛk troʊˈkɔ tə ri /

noun, plural e·lec·tro·cau·ter·ies. Medicine/Medical.

a handheld, needlelike cautery heated by an electric current.
Also e·lec·tro·cau·ter·i·za·tion. the process of cutting and cauterizing skin simultaneously, or coagulating blood from vessels around a surgical incision, by means of an electrocautery.

Origin of electrocautery

First recorded in 1880–85; electro- + cautery

Words nearby electrocautery

electrobiology, electrocaloric effect, electrocardiogram, electrocardiograph, electrocauterization, electrocautery, electrocerebral silence, electrochemical, electrochemical cell, electrochemical equivalent, electrochemical series

British Dictionary definitions for electrocautery

electrocautery
/ (ɪˌlɛktrəʊˈkɔːtərɪ) /

noun

vet science the use of an electrically heated metal instrument for cautery

Medical definitions for electrocautery

electrocautery
[ ĭ-lĕk′trō-kô′tə-rē ]

n.

An instrument for directing a high-frequency current through a local area of tissue.
A metal cauterizing instrument heated by electricity.
The cauterization of tissue by means of one of these instruments.