noun, plural cau·ter·ies.
- an escharotic substance, electric current, or hot iron used to destroy tissue.
- the process of destroying tissue with a cautery.
noun plural -teries
- the coagulation of blood or destruction of body tissue by cauterizing
- Also called: cauterant an instrument or chemical agent for cauterizing
1540s, from Latin cauterium “branding iron,” from Greek kauterion (see cauterize).
n.
- An agent or instrument used to destroy tissue by burning, searing, cutting, or scarring, including caustic substances, electric currents, and lasers.
- The act or process of cauterizing.
- An agent or instrument used to destroy tissue, as in surgery, by burning, searing, cutting, or scarring, including caustic substances, electric currents, and lasers.