trephination
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun: A surgical procedure in which a circular piece of bone, specifically from the skull, is removed. This creates an opening in the cranium.
Usage
Trephination is a precise medical term. It is used to describe a specific historical or modern neurosurgical operation. * It is primarily used in medical, historical, and anthropological contexts. * The word is typically used as a countable noun (e.g., a trephination, multiple trephinations).
Examples
- Medical Context:
- Historical/Anthropological Context:
- Describing the Procedure:
Advanced Usage
- The act of performing this surgery can be described with the verb "to trephine".
- The surgeon needed to trephine the skull to access the hematoma.
- The instrument used is called a "trephine" (a noun).
- He selected a trephine of the correct diameter for the procedure.
Variants and Related Words
- Trephine (noun): The surgical instrument, like a small circular saw, used to perform a trephination.
- Trephine (verb): To operate on with a trephine; to perform a trephination.
- Trepanation: A synonym often used interchangeably, especially in historical and anthropological contexts. (Note: Some specialists make a technical distinction between the tools used—trephine vs. trepan—but the terms are largely synonymous in general usage).
- Craniotomy: A related but broader term for any surgical opening into the skull, which may or may not involve the removal of a circular bone section.
Synonyms
- Trepanation
- Craniotomy (in a general sense, though not all craniotomies are trephinations)
Notes on Meaning
Trephination refers specifically to the removal of a circular disk of bone. It is not a general term for any brain surgery. Its purposes have included treating head injuries, relieving intracranial pressure, and, in ancient times, possibly releasing evil spirits believed to cause illness.
Noun
- an operation that removes a circular section of bone from the skull