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1. The cutting off of a limb or part of a limb, the breast, or other projecting part. 2. In dentistry, removal of the root of a tooth, or of the pulp, or of a nerve root or ganglion; a modifying adjective is therefore used (pulp a.; root a.). [L. amputatio, fr. am-puto, pp. -atus, to cut around, prune]
- A-E a. acronym for above-the-elbow a..
- A-K a. acronym for above-the-knee a..
- amnionic a. SYN: congenital a..
- B-E a. acronym for below-the-elbow a..
- B-K a. acronym for below-the-knee a..
- bloodless a. a. in which, by means of a tourniquet, the escape of blood from the cut surfaces is minimal. SYN: dry a..
- Carden a. transcondylar a. of the leg, the femur is sawed through the condyles just above the articular surface.
- central a. a. in which the flaps are so united that the cicatrix runs across the end of the stump.
- Chopart a. a. through the midtarsal joint; i.e., between the tarsal navicular and the calcaneocuboid joints.
- cinematic a. SYN: cineplastic a..
- cineplastic a. a method of a. of an extremity whereby the muscles and tendons are so arranged in the stump that they are able to execute independent movements and to communicate motion to a specially constructed prosthetic apparatus. SYN: cinematic a., cineplastics, kineplastic a..
- circular a. a. performed by a circular incision through the skin, the muscles being similarly divided higher up, and the bone higher still. SYN: guillotine a., linear a..
- congenital a. [MIM*217100] a. produced in utero; attributed to the pressure of constricting bands (amniotic). SEE ALSO: a. (1). SYN: amnionic a., intrauterine a., spontaneous a. (1).
- dry a. SYN: bloodless a..
- elliptical a. circular a. in which the sweep of the knife is not exactly vertical to the axis of the limb, the outline of the cut surface being therefore elliptical.
- Farabeuf a. 1. a. of the leg, the flap being large and on the outer side; 2. a. of the foot; disarticulation of the foot through the subtalar joint and the talo-navicular joint.
- flap a. an a. in which flaps of the muscular and cutaneous tissues are made to cover the end of the bone. SYN: flap operation (1).
- forequarter a. a. of the arm with removal of the scapula and a portion of the clavicle. SYN: interscapulothoracic a..
- Gritti-Stokes a. supracondylar a. of the femur, the patella being preserved and applied to the end of the bone, its articular cartilage being removed so as to obtain union. SYN: Gritti operation.
- guillotine a. SYN: circular a..
- hindquarter a. SYN: hemipelvectomy.
- immediate a. a. necessitated by irreparable injury to the limb, performed within 12 hours after the injury.
- intermediate a. an a. formerly performed during the period between trauma or incipient gangrene and suppuration. SYN: primary a..
- interscapulothoracic a. SYN: forequarter a..
- intrauterine a. SYN: congenital a..
- Jaboulay a. SYN: hemipelvectomy.
- kineplastic a. SYN: cineplastic a..
- Kirk a. a. at the lower end of the femur, using the tendon of the quadriceps extensor to cover the end of the bone.
- Krukenberg a. a cineplastic a. at the carpus with the distal end of the forearm used to create a forklike stump between radius and ulna; especially valuable in the blind because the stump has proprioception.
- Le Fort a. a modification of Pirogoff a.; the calcaneus is sawed through horizontally instead of vertically so that the patient steps on the same part of the heel as before.
- linear a. SYN: circular a..
- Lisfranc a. a. of the foot at the tarsometatarsal joint, the sole being preserved to make the flap. SYN: Lisfranc operation.
- Mackenzie a. a modification of Syme a. at the ankle joint, the flap being taken from the inner side.
- Malgaigne a. SYN: subastragalar a..
- Mikulicz-Vladimiroff a. an osteoplastic resection of the foot in which the talus and calcaneus are excised, the anterior row of tarsal bones being united to the lower end of the tibia, the articular surfaces of both being removed; the lower end of the stump is therefore the anterior portion of the foot, the patient walking thereafter on tiptoe. SYN: Vladimiroff-Mikulicz a..
- oblique a. a. in which the line of section through an extremity is at other than a right angle; this yields an oval appearance to the cut surface (hence sometimes, though rarely, referred to as an oval a.).
- osteoplastic a. an a., e.g., through the tarsus, in which the cut surface of another bone is brought in apposition with the one primarily divided so that the two unite, thus giving a better stump.
- Pirogoff a. a. of the foot; the lower articular surfaces of the tibia and fibula are sawed through and the ends covered with a portion of the os calcis which has also been sawed through from above posteriorly downward and forward.
- primary a. SYN: intermediate a..
- quadruple a. a. of both arms and both legs.
- racket a. a circular or slightly oval a., in which a long incision is made in the axis of the limb.
- rectangular a. a. in which the flaps are fashioned in the shape of a rectangle.
- root a. surgical removal of one or more roots of a multirooted tooth, the remaining root canal(s) usually being treated endodontically. SYN: radectomy, radiectomy, radisectomy.
- spontaneous a. 1. SYN: congenital a.. 2. a. as the result of a pathologic process rather than external trauma.
- Stokes a. a modification of the Gritti-Stokes a. in that the line of section of the femur is slightly higher.
- subperiosteal a. a. in which the periosteum is stripped back from the bone and replaced afterward, forming a periosteal flap over the cut end.
- Syme a. a. of the foot at the ankle joint, the malleoli being sawed off, and a flap being made with the soft parts of the heel. SYN: Syme operation.
- transverse a. a. in which the line of section through the extremity is at right angles to the long axis.
- Vladimiroff-Mikulicz a. SYN: Mikulicz-Vladimiroff a..
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n.
the removal of a limb, part of a limb, or any other portion of the body (such as a breast or the rectum). The term is customarily modified by an adjective showing the particular type of amputation. Once a common operation in surgery, it is now usually performed only in cases of severe injury to limbs or, particularly in elderly people, when circulation to a limb is inadequate and gangrene develops. In planning an amputation the surgeon takes account of the patient's work and the type of artificial part (prosthesis) that will be fitted.
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am·pu·ta·tion (am″pu-taґshən) [L. amputare to cut off, or to prune] the removal of a limb or other appendage or outgrowth of the body.Medical dictionary. 2011.