morcellate
English edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
From French morceler (“to break into pieces”).
Verb edit
morcellate (third-person singular simple present morcellates, present participle morcellating, simple past and past participle morcellated)
- (surgery) To break into small pieces, prior to removal
- 1919, Barton Cooke Hirst, Atlas of operative gynecology, Lippincott, page 175:
- …forceps are then enucleated if its size is small or morcelated by the excision of piece after piece until the remaining small part of the growth can be extracted after enucleaction. A large cavity is left behind which is packed with gauze: in vaginal myomecotomy, a closure of the tumor cavity by suture is usually impracticable.