The medical practice of burning or searing tissue with heat or chemicals; a tool used for this purpose, such as a heated instrument or caustic substance.
From Latin cauterium (branding iron) via Old French cauterie. The Greek root is kauter (burning) from kaiein (to burn). Used in English medical texts since the 1300s.
Cautery appears in battle descriptions from every century of human warfare because it was literally the only way to stop soldiers from bleeding to death before modern medicine. It's saved millions of lives throughout history.
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