Osteoclases

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of surgical procedure focusing on the breaking or reshaping of bone tissue
2. An operation involving the intentional fracturing of bone to correct deformities or facilitate healing
3. A medical practice that employs controlled bone destruction to address specific orthopedic conditions

Etymology: "Osteoclases" is the plural of "osteoclasis," an operation in which a bone is deliberately broken, usually to straighten a deformity or to set a bone that has healed out of alignment. The word is built from two Greek-derived parts: "osteo-," from Greek "osteon," meaning bone, and "-clasis," from Greek "klasis," meaning breaking or fracture. The second element is the same one found in "osteoclast," the cell that breaks down bone tissue, so the two terms share a root even though one describes a surgeon's act and the other a cell's.