NECROSIS (Gr. vEKpos,

See also:

• CORPSE (Lat. corpus, the body)

corpse)  , a term restricted in surgery to death of bone . A severe inflammation, caused by a violent blow, by cold, or by the absorption of various poisons, as mercury and phosphorus, is the general precursor of necrosis . The dead part, analogous to the slough in the soft tissues, is called a sequestrum or exfoliation . At first it is firmly attached to the living bone around; gradually, however, the dead portion is separated from the living tissue . The process of separation is a slow one . New bone is formed around the sequestrum, which often renders its removal difficult . As a rule the surgeon waits until the dead part is loose, and then cuts down through the new case and removes the sequestrum . The cavity in which it lay gradually closes, and a useful limb is the result .