cryosurgery

cryosurgery
—cryosurgical, adj.
/kruy'oh serr"jeuh ree/, n.
the use of extreme cold to destroy tissue for therapeutic purposes.
[1960-65; CRYO- + SURGERY]

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      therapeutic technique in which localized freezing is used to remove or destroy diseased tissue. Rapid cooling of body tissues to a temperature of -60° C or lower causes ice crystals to form, disrupting cell structure and, ultimately, killing the cell. Freezing may also destroy tissues by triggering an immune response, releasing intracellular proteins that attract natural antibodies (antibody). These antibodies, in turn, destroy the diseased cells.

      Various attempts to freeze tissue—using ice, liquid air, and solid or superchilled carbon dioxide—date to the 1850s, but the first efficient cryosurgical system applicable to internal tissues was developed by a U.S. neurosurgeon, Irving Cooper, in 1961. Cooper used liquid nitrogen to destroy brain tumours. Cryosurgery is now used in the removal of skin lesions, control of gynecologic and urologic tumours, lens extractions in ophthalmology, elimination of hemorrhoids, and other conditions involving diseased tissue.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Cryosurgery — (cryotherapy) is the application of extreme cold to destroy abnormal or diseased tissue.[1] The term comes from the Greek words cryo (κρύο) ( icy cold ) and surgery (cheirourgiki χειρουργική) meaning hand work or handiwork . Cryosurgery has been… …   Wikipedia

  • cryosurgery — [krī′ō sʉr΄jər ē] n. [ CRYO + SURGERY] surgery involving the selective destruction of tissues by freezing them, as with liquid nitrogen: also cryogenic surgery cryosurgical adj …   English World dictionary

  • Cryosurgery — Treatment performed with an instrument that freezes and destroys abnormal tissue. * * * An operation using freezing temperature (achieved by liquid nitrogen or carbon dioxide) as an independent agent or in an instrument to destroy tissue. * * *… …   Medical dictionary

  • cryosurgery — n. the use of extreme cold in a localized part of the body to freeze and destroy unwanted tissues. Cryosurgery is usually undertaken with an instrument called a cryoprobe, which has a fine tip cooled by allowing carbon dioxide or nitrous oxide… …   The new mediacal dictionary

  • cryosurgery — noun Date: 1962 surgery in which usually diseased or abnormal tissue (as of a tumor or wart) is destroyed or removed by freezing (as by liquid nitrogen) • cryosurgeon noun • cryosurgical adjective …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • cryosurgery — noun The use of a probe containing liquid nitrogen to freeze and thus destroy tissue. See Also: cryosurgeon, cryosurgical …   Wiktionary

  • cryosurgery — n. use of very low temperatures to destroy tissue …   English contemporary dictionary

  • cryosurgery — noun surgery using the local application of intense cold to destroy unwanted tissue …   English new terms dictionary

  • cryosurgery — cryo·surgery …   English syllables

  • cryosurgery — cry•o•sur•ger•y [[t]ˌkraɪ oʊˈsɜr dʒə ri[/t]] n. srg the use of extreme cold to destroy tissue for therapeutic purposes • Etymology: 1960–65 cry o•sur′gi•cal, adj …   From formal English to slang

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