cautery Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun 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
    cauterant.
  2. noun the act of coagulating blood and destroying tissue with a hot iron or caustic agent or by freezing
    cauterisation; cauterization.

WordNet

Cau"ter*y noun
Etymology
L. cauterium, Gr. . See Cauter.
Wordforms
plural Cauteries
Definitions
  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.
  2. The iron of other agent in cauterizing.

Webster 1913