lobotomy

[ luh-bot-uh-mee, loh- ]

noun

, Surgery.

, plural lo·bot·o·mies.

1. the operation of cutting into a lobe, as of the brain or the lung.
2. prefrontal lobotomy.

lobotomy

/ ləʊˈbɒtəmɪ /

noun

1. a surgical incision into a lobe of any organ
2. Also calledprefrontal leucotomy a surgical interruption of one or more nerve tracts in the frontal lobe of the brain: used in the treatment of intractable mental disorders

lobotomy

/ lə-bŏt′ə-mē /

1. Surgical incision into the frontal lobe of the brain to sever one or more nerve tracts, a technique formerly used to treat certain psychiatric disorders but now rarely performed.

lobotomy

1. A surgical incision into one or more of the nerve masses in the front of the brain . A lobotomy may be performed for the relief of certain mental disorders, although it has been largely abandoned in favor of less radical treatments.

Notes

Because people who have had a lobotomy often become quite passive after the operation, the term is often used to refer to someone who shows a lack of response or reaction: “She was so tired she just sat there as if she had been lobotomized.”

Word History and Origins

Origin of lobotomy¹

C20: from lobe + -tomy

Example Sentences

“The owners have basically given us a lobotomy; they have removed our memory,” he says.

From The Daily Beast

And there were still more radical procedures, prefrontal lobotomy for instance.

From Project Gutenberg