enucleation

[ ih-noo-klee-ey-shuhn-nyoo- ]

noun

1. Biology. removal or elimination of the nucleus of a cell:

   Immature oocytes were obtained from hormone-stimulated goats and matured for 22 hours before enucleation.

2. Surgery. removal of an enclosed mass or body, such as a cyst, eyeball, or tumor, while leaving it whole:

   Enucleation of the cyst, along with removal of the tooth, is the treatment of choice.

   In some cases the surgeon may have to remove the eye, a procedure called enucleation.

Word History and Origins

Origin of enucleation¹

First recorded in 1610–20, for an earlier sense; equivalent to enucleat(e) ( def ) + -ion ( def )

Example Sentences

The outbreak has also been connected to eight recent reports of vision loss and four reports of enucleation, or surgical removal of an eyeball.

From Washington Post

Ritchie: On the day we made Dolly, I would have done the enucleation, and she would have done the fusion.

From Nature

That journey began 15 years ago in Japan, where enucleation may be refused because of social, cultural, and religious factors.

From Seattle Times

The enucleation of the eyeball should not be undertaken by anyone unacquainted with the anatomical structures involved in such an operation.

From Project Gutenberg

But it may become suddenly worse, or go on to complete blindness with pain, demanding enucleation, after some temporary perturbation, as the performance of a glaucoma operation.

From Project Gutenberg