Denervations

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The surgical or medical removal of nerves from a specific area in the body
2. The process by which nerve fibers are cut or disrupted, resulting in loss of nerve function
3. A procedure that leads to a reduction or elimination of nerve activity in a targeted region of tissue

Etymology: The plural "denervations" simply takes the plural form of "denervation", a noun for the act of cutting or disrupting nerve fibres so that they lose function. The noun is built from "denervate", a verb formed in English by adding the prefix "de-", meaning "removal or reversal", to "nerve", with the suffix "-ate" turning it into a verb. The noun then adds "-ion", which turns the action verb into a process noun. That final "-ion" ending has a longer history than its English form suggests. It descends from the Latin "-tio", a suffix attached to verbs to name the act or result of the action. It passed through Old French "-ation" into Middle English, where it appeared as "-aciioun", before settling into the modern "-ation" and "-ion" forms that English uses today.