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Glite Dictionary
decortication

decortication

1 9.9
The removal of the outer layer from an organ or body part, usually done in surgery
  • noun
  • /dɪˌkɔːrtɪˈkeɪʃən/
  • Specialized
: desprendimiento
  • The surgeon performed a decortication to remove the damaged tissue from the patient's lung.

Examples

  • He illustrates his point in the last stanza of his poetic parable about the public decortication of the young woman in the Place de la Bourse.

    Academic text (1993)

  • In botany, decortication is used to describe the process of removing the bark from a tree.

  • Following the decortication of the affected area, the doctor examined the underlying tissue for further damage.

Antonyms

addition
191 1.4

The act of putting one thing with another

How Complete

denudation
  • Specialized
1 8.9
decortication
  • Specialized
1 9.9
excision
  • Specialized
2 7.9
peeling
1 2.3

Surface Forms

decortication singular
decortications plural

Morphology

decortication = decorticate (semi-transparent) = de + cortic + ation

Formation from the verb 'decorticate' to the noun with a regular nominalizing suffix is clear, but the root 'cortic' (relating to 'cortex' or outer layer) is technical and not obvious to average learners.

Etymology

Decortication comes from de- 'remove' and cortex 'bark', like a tree's outer layer, so it is like 'taking off the bark' of an organ. That's why decortication means removing the outer covering from an organ or part.