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Concept
Cauterization
Summary
Cauterization (or cauterisation, or cautery) is a medical practice or technique of burning a part of a body to remove or close off a part of it. It destroys some tissue in an attempt to mitigate bleeding and damage, remove an undesired growth, or minimize other potential medical harm, such as infections when antibiotics are unavailable.
The practice was once widespread for treatment of wounds. Its utility before the advent of antibiotics was said to be effective at more than one level:
To prevent exsanguination
To close amputations
Cautery was historically believed to prevent infection, but current research shows that cautery actually increases the risk for infection by causing more tissue damage and providing a more hospitable environment for bacterial growth. Actual cautery refers to the metal device, generally heated to a dull red glow, that a physician applies to produce blisters, to stop bleeding of a blood vessel, and for other similar purposes.
The main forms of cauterization used today are electrocautery and chemical cautery—both are, for example, prevalent in cosmetic removal of warts and stopping nosebleeds. Cautery can also mean the branding of a human.
Cauterize is a Middle English word borrowed from the Old French cauteriser, from Late Latin cauterizare "to burn or brand with a hot iron", from Greek καυτηριάζειν (kauteriazein), from καυτήρ (kauter), "burning or branding iron", and καίειν, "to burn" (cf caustic).
Cauterization has been used to stop heavy bleeding since antiquity. The process was described in the Edwin Smith Papyrus and Hippocratic Corpus. It was primarily used to control hemorrhages, especially those resulting from surgery, in ancient Greece. Archigenes recommended cauterization in the event of hemorrhaging wounds, and Leonides of Alexandria described excising breast tumors and cauterizing the resulting wound in order to control bleeding. The Chinese Su wen recommends cauterization as a treatment for various ailments, including dog bites. Indigenous peoples of the Americas, ancient Arabs, and Persians also used the technique.
Official source
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